NEW DELHI: Aimed at boosting toy manufacture in India and improving its global market share, the government on Thursday announced the first ‘India Toy Fair-2021’ to be held from February 27 to March 2, 2021
Bringing together all stakeholders of the Indian toy industry, the fair was jointly inaugurated by the respective ministers of education, textiles and commerce and industry with the launch of its official website.
The website for the ‘India Toy Fair 2021’ will enable children, parents, teachers, exhibitors, etc. to register themselves to participate in the virtual fair and showcase various facets of the ‘Indian toy ecosphere’. It is the first ever digitally accessible exhibition and platform which will provide an opportunity to not only explore and buy a variety of toys from over 1,000 exhibitors across states and UTs, but also to participate in insightful webinars, panel discussions and activities and network with various stakeholders of the toy industry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign launched by him had last year highlighted the importance of toys in moulding a child’s mind. Modi said toys aligned with Indian culture and ethos should be used as pedagogical tools across all anganwadi centres and schools for all-round development of children.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that about a year back, complaints were received about poor quality toys being imported into the country which on examination by a committee were found to be true. This, he said, led to the issue of quality control of toys, an initiative that will ensure Indians get access to quality toys.
Later the government increased the import duty of toys by 20% to 60%. The toy market is one of the several, flooded with Chinese products.
However, Goyal said that the initiative is not driven by any other interest but to make a mark for Indian-made quality toys in the world.
Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said Indian toys have been the building blocks of a happy childhood and that play-based, discovery-based and activity-based learning plays an integral role in bridging the gap between day-to-day studies and practical hands-on learning and is a a prime focus of the National Education Policy 2020.
Minister of textiles and WCD, Smriti Irani stated that six ministries of the Union government have joined hands to make ‘India Toy Fair 2021’ a grand success.