Telangana wants to have some 150 business centers of the Cotton Corporation of India. The state says the extent of its cotton sown area has doubled and this year farmers would be requiring at least 150 centers through which to sell their produce. The centers would run six days a week. CCI could use the payment gateway of e-NAM for easy transactions since online payment of sale proceeds to the farmers will prevent delay in payments.

Also, it wants the CCI to relax its purchasing norms as due to heavy rains during October and November, cotton was getting discolored to some extent. It has also sought supply of hand machines on a subsidy basis to farmers to help them pick cotton as this would not only address cotton contamination but also tackle the labor shortage. It also wants a supply of bags to pick the cotton.

Telangana is planning to set up four testing laboratories for bales, which would facilitate exports. Telangana grows cotton in 40 lakh acres, making it one of the top cotton-growing areas in the country. The state has about 1.6 crore acres of arable land, but given the lack of water availability, only about one crore acres are being harnessed.