By Ms. Dipali Goenka, MD & CEO, Welspun Living Limited
From Cotton Production to Global Recognition
India is one of the world’s largest cotton producers. The country accounts for nearly 20% of global cotton production and supports more than six million cotton farmers.
However, scale alone does not determine competitiveness in global markets.
The bigger opportunity is to ensure that Indian cotton becomes recognised not only by its origin, but also by what it consistently represents: quality, traceability, responsible production and reliability.
This is where Kasturi Cotton Bharat can play an important role.
Global Sourcing Puts Traceability in Focus
Global sourcing is changing rapidly. Today, traceability has moved from being a market differentiator to an increasingly important expectation.
Brands want greater visibility across their supply chains. At the same time, changing regulations and sustainability requirements are increasing the need for credible information about product origin and production practices.
For Indian cotton, this creates both an opportunity and an imperative. India can move beyond being a major volume-based cotton origin and build a globally recognised and differentiated proposition.
Kasturi Cotton Bharat provides some of the infrastructure needed for this transition. The programme combines defined quality parameters with QR-based certification and blockchain-enabled traceability.
As of June 30, 2026, the programme had certified 3,29,550 bales, while 116 units, including ginners and other supply-chain participants, had renewed their registration.
The next phase must focus on scale, adoption and market demand.
Turning Certification into Commercial Value
Certification creates value only when buyers actively seek certified cotton, manufacturers can integrate it into their supply chains and farmers have a clear economic reason to participate.
Therefore, India needs action across several areas.
Building Consistent Quality
First, India needs greater consistency at the farm and gin level.
Quality cannot simply be checked at the end of the process. Instead, producers must build quality through better agricultural practices, contamination control, scientific picking and storage, efficient ginning and consistent testing.
Making Traceability Easier
Second, traceability must become easier to scale.
Digital systems should connect information across farmers, ginners, spinners, manufacturers and brands without adding unnecessary complexity.
The goal should be a credible digital chain of custody that follows the fibre from its origin through to the finished product.
Creating Global Demand
Third, India needs stronger international demand for differentiated cotton.
This requires more than promotional campaigns. International retailers and brands need measurable evidence of quality, provenance and responsible production.
Sharing Value Across the Chain
Finally, the value created through differentiation must reach the wider supply chain.
If better quality and verified production practices generate higher market value, farmers and other participants who make these improvements possible should also have the opportunity to benefit.
Technology Can Transform the Cotton Value Chain
The next decade offers an opportunity to rethink how technology can support India’s cotton ecosystem.
Farm-level data, satellite imagery and AI-enabled crop advisory tools can help farmers improve productivity. Similarly, digital quality testing and traceability platforms can support better resource use, identify risks earlier and provide buyers with more reliable supply-chain information.
As a result, the global cotton proposition could look very different in the future.
A bale of cotton could increasingly carry a digital identity that records its origin, quality parameters and journey through the value chain.
India has the scale to make such an ecosystem meaningful. However, the industry must ensure that these technologies remain interoperable, accessible and commercially viable across millions of farms and thousands of supply-chain participants.
Lessons from Welspun’s Experience
At Welspun Living, our experience shows that responsible sourcing and traceability work best when companies embed them into the value chain rather than add them at the end.
Through Wel-Krishi, our sustainable cotton cultivation programme, we work with farming communities on responsible agricultural practices, resource efficiency and improved farm-level outcomes.
Our engagement with Better Cotton also forms part of our responsible sourcing approach.
In addition, we have invested in traceability through Wel-Trak®, our blockchain-enabled platform that provides visibility across the journey from farm to finished product.
The lesson is clear: transparency becomes powerful when it turns complex supply-chain information into credible and usable data for customers.
Kasturi Cotton Bharat has the opportunity to take this principle to a much larger national scale.
Moving Indian Cotton from Volume to Value
India exported ₹3,25,339 crore of textiles and apparel, including handicrafts, in FY2025–26.
The country already has a significant global textile manufacturing base, an extensive cotton ecosystem and established relationships with some of the world’s largest markets.
The next frontier is value creation.
Imagine global brands specifying Indian cotton because its quality remains predictable, its origin can be verified and its production credentials can be demonstrated through reliable data.
Imagine farmers gaining greater visibility into the value of the cotton they produce and receiving greater returns for measurable improvements in quality and responsible practices.
That is the opportunity Kasturi Cotton Bharat can help unlock.
Collaboration Will Shape the Next Decade
Achieving this vision will require alignment across the entire cotton value chain.
Government can provide standards and enabling infrastructure. Industry can contribute technology, scale and market access. Meanwhile, global buyers can help create demand for differentiated Indian cotton.
Farmers, ginners, spinners, manufacturers, exporters and technology providers will also have an important role to play.
Therefore, success should not be measured only by the number of certified bales.
It should also reflect buyer adoption, farmer participation, quality consistency, traceability coverage and the additional value generated by Indian cotton in global markets.
Building a Trusted Global Identity
India has already built one of the world’s largest cotton and textile ecosystems.
The opportunity for the next decade is to make it one of the world’s most trusted.
That would represent a powerful evolution for Indian cotton: from scale to value, from provenance to proof, and from a commodity to a globally recognised identity.
