World Cup Day - 7 October

Tags: Important Days

World Cotton Day is celebrated every year on 7 October to emphasize the global importance of cotton.

An Overview of the News

• The objective of World Cotton Day is to promote technological progress in cotton production, cotton products and cotton cultivation.

• The Union Textiles Ministry observed World Cotton Day 2023 on 7 October.

• The conference's theme was "Enhancing the quality and productivity of Indian cotton through policy, innovation, and technology upgradation."

• The event was organized in collaboration with the EU-Resource Efficiency Initiative, Cotton Corporation of India Limited (CCI) and GIZ.

Bale Identification and Traceability System (BITS):

• CCI launches the 'Bail Identification and Traceability System' (BITS) using blockchain technology.

• BITS assigns a QR code to each cotton bale for transparent tracking of quality information including origin, processing factory, storage details and timestamp.

The theme of World Cotton Day 2023:

• The United Nations has set its theme as 'Making cotton fair and sustainable for all: from farm to fashion'.

• The theme highlights the role of cotton in economic development, international trade and poverty alleviation.

Global Cotton Production:

• India is the leader in cotton production, contributing 38% of the total world cotton production.

• China is the second largest cotton producer globally.

History of World Cotton Day:

• In 2012, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali proposed celebrating World Cotton Day at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

• The first World Cotton Day event organized by WTO took place in 2019 with the support of FAO, ICAC and UNCTAD.

Description of Cotton Cultivation:

• Cotton is a Kharif crop and is suitable for dry climates.

• It usually takes 6 to 8 months to mature.

• Cotton covers 2.1% of the world's arable land and meets 27% of global textile needs.

• Ideal conditions for cotton production: temperature (21-30 °C), rainfall (50-100 cm), soil (black cotton soil with good drainage, soil of Deccan plateau is suitable).

CottonSpecies:

• There are four cultivated species of cotton: Gossypium arboreum, G. Herbacem, G. hirsutum, and G. barbadense.

BT Cotton:

• Bt cotton is a genetically modified insect-resistant variety of cotton.

Cotton Products:

• Cotton is used to make textiles, fiber, oil and animal feed.

Top cotton-producing countries:

• The top three cotton-producing countries globally are India, China and the United States.

Top cotton-producing states in India:

• Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan are the major cotton-producing states of India.