Local Toys for Global Market : Toy Fair in India 2021

Context: 

On 27th February, 2021, the PM Modi virtually inaugurated India’s first Toy Fairs.  

• India Toy Fair 2021 is a major step towards building AatmaNirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India). 
• India has tradition, technology, concepts and competence to make great toys. 

Key Points: 

Background:  

• Across India, toys have been a crucial part of life and also tradition. 
• India has a rich legacy in toy-making. Historically Indian toys date back to 5000 years.  
• The excavated toys and dolls found in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro included small carts, dancing woman, etc. 
• India has a rich culture of storytelling through its toys. Our ancestors have been preserving this culture by making toys which show a perspective of life.  
• The religious influence also led to a different set of toys depicting stories from epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata 
• Even today, celebrations are incomplete for children without their toys. 

Aim: The Government is aiming to boost toy manufacturing, enhance toy export and generate more jobs. 

Indian Toys in Global Market: 

 

• The toy fair 2021 brought together all stakeholders, including buyers, sellers, students, teachers, and designers, on a platform to create sustainable linkages and encourage dialogue for the overall development of the industry.  
• The global toy industry is worth more than Rs 7 Lakh Crore and India’s share in this is only 0.5 per cent. By 2025, the market is expected to reach about Rs 9.50 Lakh Crore.  
• About 85 per cent of India’s toy demand is dependent on import while the local contribution is only 15 per cent.  
• The contribution of the local products became important as India has one third of the total population of children below the age of 14 globally.  
• This population is not just a challenge for the local manufacturers but also an opportunity for them. 
• Clubbed with Self-Reliant India, the mantra of ‘Vocal for Local’ can play an important role in taking Indian toys to the global market.

Also Read: Vocal for Local 

Toycathon:  

In 2021, the Government also organised Toycathon. Running between January 5 and February 25. 

Aim:  The Toycathon was aimed at conceptualising innovative toys based on the Indian value system which will inculcate the positive behaviour and good value among the children.  

Inititive of: 

Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Ministry of Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Ministry of I&B and All India Council for Technical Education jointly launched Toycathon-2021.  

Challenges:

• Indian children are more aware about foreign actors than our own heroes, who fought for the country. This flood of foreign toys has destroyed our local trade. 
• Lego and Mattel are among the biggest toy brands globally. Several top toy brands are having their plants in China.
• China's shares globally exported  toys is 85%.
• European Union is second largest toy exporter.
• Every year, toys worth Rs 3,500 to 4,500 Crore are sold in India. The contribution of indigenous toys is only 15 per cent, while rest are imported. 
• Nearly 67 per cent of imported toys failed a survey of the Quality Council of India (QCI). 
• As per the report, 45 per cent of soft toys failed on the admissible levels of phthalates which can cause cancer.

Significance: 

• This first toy fair of India is not just a business or economic event. This programme is a link to strengthen the country's age-old culture of sports and gaiety. 
• India's creative relationship with toys is as old as the history of this terrain. The world has done research on the toys from the Indus Valley Civilisation, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.  
• In ancient times, when travelers from the world came to India, they took our sports with them. Chess, which is so popular, was earlier played in India as 'Chaturanga or Chaduranga' .
• The country’s toy manufacturers to make toys that are better for both ecology and psychology. Use less plastic in toys. Use items that can be recycled. 
• The new National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) incorporates play-based and activity-based education on a large scale. This is an education system in which special attention has been paid to the development of logical and creative thinking in the children. 
• In the field of toys, India has tradition and technology. India has concepts and competence. The world back towards eco-friendly toys. 
• India's toy heritage and artists were neglected for seven decades. Due to this neglect, foreign toys have flooded the Indian markets as well as in our homes. 
• India being a country with an ethos of unity in diversity, its toys also reflect its diverse culture. 
• Our toys should have our values and teachings for children, and their quality should also be in accordance with international standards. 
• India has now graded the toy industry in 24 major sectors. The National Toy Action Plan has also been prepared. It has included 15 ministries and departments to make the toy industry competitive and India self-reliant in toys, and to take India's toys to the world. 

 

Government Initiatives: 

• As per the data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and Ministry of Commerce, 400 MSMEs in India are involved in toy manufacturing. Of these, 75 per cent are micro, 22 per cent are small and medium while three per cent are big units. 
• The Government is taking two-sided initiatives. First, to improve the local toy industry and second, to give them a fair market so that they can compete with foreign toys in the Indian market.  
• In January-February, Toycathon was organised in India for the first time. After this, the country's first Toy Fair was organised between February 27 and March 4. 
• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification was made mandatory to ensure that the toys do not harm children's health. Handicrafts and GI toys made in India are exempted from this certification. 
• Import duty on foreign toys has been increased. This will provide a protection to the locally manufactured toys. 

Other Important Facts about Indian Toys: 

• The Government of India (GoI) has aimed at increasing India’s share in the global toy market to Rs 2,800 Crore by 2024. 
• India is the only country in the world having 12 clusters of traditional toys with GI tags. 
• There are 20 traditional toy clusters. 

 

India is ready to storm the global toy market with its local toys. The New India is heading forward with a new confidence. 

Also Read : Agro-based Textile Industry in India

Source: PIB