Let me begin by warmly congratulating my colleagues in the Ministry of Textiles and CITI who have gotten together to organize word cotton today, today. As we all know, cotton represents the most important part of our textile ecosystem.
And a short while ago, we had a presentation on global data trends in the textile ecosystem, specifically cotton, which is also the theme of this conference today. But what are the defining characteristics of the Indian textile ecosystem today? And how do they interact with the global megatrends that we see?
We all know that we have a textile ecosystem worth around 176 billion dollars. And we aspire to take this 176 billion-dollar textile ecosystem to a 350 billion-dollar textile ecosystem by 2050. But what is most interesting to note is that in this, 65 to 70% is a domestic market, which is growing at an annual rate of seven to 8%.
What is even more interesting is that unlike in the rest of the world, we have a textile ecosystem that is dominated by cotton, whether it is raw material, whether it is finished goods, whether it is, we have a history of cotton. So, we have a legacy of other, and there is a Turkish proverb that I'm very fond of recounting.
In the Turkish language, and this was told to me by a very senior officer from Turkey who had come to see me, when they want to berate somebody or taunt somebody who is acting very pricey, it is customary to ask them, are you as smart as an Indian textile that
This. So even if a country like which is itself cotton recognizes the strength of our exile ecosystem, especially the cotton ecosystem, I think it is important for us to look back and see what we have achieved and what is it that we have to strive for in the future.
But there is, if there is one global megatrend, that resonates very well with our Indian megatrends, it is sustainability. And I have said this before, from being a nice thing to do a few years ago, sustainability has become a sign of an arm without which not. So cotton is one of the most important commercial crops cultivated in India.
We are the first in the world in cotton acreage with 126. 80 lakh acres of cotton cultivation. Which is nearly 40% of the area of the world, but, you must not get carried away simply by the amount of acres that we cultivate cotton in. In generation/yield, we are lower than the world average and it's not very hardening to go that we are 35th world four six, but by the sheer.
And the sheer amount of land over which cotton is cultivated. We are the second largest producer in the world. We are also the second largest consumer in the world. And we are one of the largest exporters of cotton. So these figures should make us realize the importance of cotton in our overall textile ecosystem.
And today on the occasion of World Cotton Day, It's a fitting moment to not just look at our strengths in the cotton ecosystem but also to look at the challenges we face, and also to deliberate on how we will overcome these challenges.
There is a very nice story in the Panchtantra about the lion being the king of the And the king of the jungle when he is traversing the forest, pauses for a moment to look back at the area which he rules and leads. But, and as the mantra says, he also looks around to see potential dangers, potential enemies and contemplates how he will overcome these challenges.
I think this is an apt metaphor for the cotton sector. While being traditional leaders, leaders of a millennium, it was also time for us on occasion such as this to look back, not just at the territory that we made, but also look back at the challenges that confront us immediately or are likely to confront us in the future and discuss how we are going to overcome and confront the challenges.
Traceability, sustainability, and Productivity enhancement are the challenges that we can see staring at us in the face. The textile ministry has instituted a textile advisory group. And my colleague rightly took you back to April 2020, when this group was constituted. And how, over the past 24 months, this group has emerged as a model in collaboration,
In competitive cooperation, the different elements of the value chain need not necessarily have the same interests. They need not necessarily have the same desires. But I think, just as different states of the country are cooperating in the spirit of competitive federalism, the different elements of the value So I am going to say in this class that every element of the value chain has to come together which element of the value change.
Can then progress possibly. So I think occasions like this and also the technical advisory group that we have constituted in our ministry are occasions to come together to cooperate, to compete in a spirit of cooperativeness so that the entire sector moves forward. And I think, and this is going be my last point, I think the report that we saw.
It speaks of how different sub-federal constituents of the Indian Union are competing with each other to attract investment. And in the short time that I sought to look at this report, I think the report estimates a, that in a state like Madhya Pradesh, almost 40 million are available as incentives from the state government over an investment of 120 million, which constitutes almost the vast majority of the investment.
And the fact that the report is titled, Who is Winning the Investment Race, is itself an indication of the fact that the policy environment is alive and that the policymakers are fully cognizant of the needs of investment, to supporting you, to investing in you, to investing in the value sector, a value chain, to make sure that the entire sector moves forward.
I would only like to conclude by saying. The cotton remains a legacy sector for us. And despite all the challenges that are confronting us, we are probably the best suited to obtain, and retain, a leadership position in the sector. Our Kasturi Cotton Initiative is only one of the examples of how the sector is adapting and responding to the changing needs.
Our efforts are productive. And another example of how decentralized grassroots intervention can lead to productivity increases. Our TAG is a third example of how we can compete and yet cooperate. I only wish that the entire bottom value chain picks up the threads from these green shoots and gives our bottom the rightful leadership position that it needs to itself.