Message From Director

ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, established in 1924, a premier constituent institute of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, is engaged in carrying out basic and strategic research in processing of cotton & its agro-residues, development of value added products and quality assessment of cotton. The Institute extends effective technological support to the country’s cotton breeding programme for varietal development with improved productivity and quality that suits industry needs. CIRCOT is an ISO 9001:2015 certified institute and is an accredited laboratory under NABL (ISO 17025:2015), functioning as Referral Laboratory for cotton textile.

CIRCOT has immensely contributed in the modernization of ginning industry in India through Technology Mission on Cotton, Mini Mission IV. CIRCOT has played a pivotal role in upgrading the skills of personnel’s engaged in ginning industry through its Ginning Training Centre at Nagpur.  Research and Development on Ginning at CIRCOT resulted in development of entire line of modern up to date ginning machinery in India, making it self-reliant in manufacturing of ginning machinery.

The other commendable achievements of the institute include development of technologies for processing of cotton and other natural fibre blends, development of composites and technical textiles, eco-friendly technologies in wet processing and value addition to the by-produce. CIRCOT has carried out pioneering work in the area of Nanotechnology and has establishment the country’s first nanocellulose pilot plant facility in 2015 that operates with energy efficient chemo-mechanical process. Calibration cotton, Standard Reference Material, for calibrating testing equipment is a hallmark of CIRCOT’s achievement.

CIRCOT plays a vital role in human capacity building in the sector through its skill development initiatives by offering need based expert training programmes. The institute has implemented the Cotton Technical Assistance Programme to strengthen the cotton value chain and capacity building in selected African Countries. CIRCOT also provides consultancy services to its stakeholders in the area of ginning, scientific processing of cottonseed, textile processing and application of nanotechnology in textiles and agriculture. Through its services CIRCOT has created effective linkage with farmers, industries, machinery manufacturers, and institutions at national and international level.

The Institute has a vibrant Agri-Business Incubation Centre, promoting sustainable start-ups based on post-harvest processing technologies developed in the institute. The Institute’s Agri-Business Incubation Center has been selected under Pan-India Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR); a unique scheme of Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) in 2017-18. The Institute is successfully nurturing the entrepreneurs and start-ups in the fields of crop value chain, post-harvest infrastructure and agribusiness enterprise development under RKVY-RAFTAAR.

The journey traversed by CIRCOT has been rewarded with many awards and accolades including the prestigious Sardar Vallabhai Patel Best ICAR Institution award in 2004.The other distinguished awards are; The Best Performing Business Planning & Development unit award in 2013 and Outstanding Team Research Award for 2013-14 under Agricultural Engineering and NRM Division and Cashless ICAR Institute award in 2016.

Recently, the institute is conferred once again with the prestigious Sardar Vallabhai Patel Outstanding ICAR Institute Award for 2019 for its outstanding contribution towards R & D of various cotton post-harvest technologies and value addition of by-products, skill development of human resources in agriculture and textile sector, prompt commercial testing services, commercialization of technologies, entrepreneurship development programs and start-up generation.

The institute is etching its way forward to emerge as Centre of excellence in cotton technology, by establishing itself as a hub for technologies, processes, machines and products that will augment the Make in India and Start-up India – stand up India and Atmanirbhar India campaign.