The Union Ministry of Textiles has issued a draft notification prescribing quality standards for cotton bales as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms. This will help Indian cotton get better prices in the long run and, in turn, benefit farmers. As per the notification, cotton bales will conform to IS 12171:2013 and shall bear the Standard Mark under a licence from the BIS as per Scheme–II of schedule II of BIS Conformity Assessment Regulations, 2018.
The certifying and enforcing authority for these bales will be the Bureau of Indian Standards along with an officer not below the rank of General Manager, District Industries Centre in the Department of Industries of the State Government. The government has fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of cotton for 2018-19 season at Rs 5,150 per quintal for medium staple and Rs 5,450 per quintal for long staple.
