Indian Economy: Growth -3

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>India second largest cotton producing country</b>

India has overtaken the US to become the second largest cotton producing country in the World, after China, a study by International Service For the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Application(ISAAA) said.

India which was having one of the lowest cotton yields in the World has become a net cotton exporter, potentially five million bales in 2007-08, the study said.

<b>Bt cotton was a major factor contributing to higher rate of production from 15.8 million bales in 2001-02 to 31 million bales in 2007-08, it said.</b>

Releasing ther brief of Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM crops:2007, Dr C P Thiagarajan, a former professor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said India experienced the highest proportional increase in 2007 for the third consecutive year with a 63 per cent gain to 6.2 million hectare of BT cotton.

<b>The income of growers in India has also increased upto Rs 10,000 or more per hectare.</b>

The studies have shown strong farmer confidence in the crops with nine of 10 Indian farmers replanting biotech cotton year on year, ISAAA said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->