Overview
- Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao and Agriculture Director B. Gopi asked CCI chief Lalit Kumar Gupta to raise the moisture ceiling to 20%, allow procurement of 12 quintals per acre, and keep the Kapas Kisan app open round the clock.
- The state said it will take the matter up with central authorities if needed, with Agriculture Secretary K. Surendra Mohan prepared to escalate the request.
- CCI’s current norms cap purchases at seven quintals per acre and enforce an 8–12% moisture band, rules farmers say are excluding rain‑affected kapas from MSP procurement.
- Protests by growers and Telangana Rythu Sangham were reported in districts including Khammam, with farmers citing app glitches, limited registration windows, and rejections or deductions for moisture as reasons for distress sales to private traders below MSP.
- Telangana cited official kharif assessments—47.84 lakh acres under cotton, roughly 30 lakh tonnes projected output, and an average yield of 11.74 quintals per acre—to argue that present caps and moisture thresholds are misaligned with field realities.