India Toy Fair 2021 begins; PM Narendra Modi calls for making India global hub for toys production

India Toy Fair 2021: The India Toy Fair 2021 was inaugurated on Saturday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in order to give a push to the toy makers in India. The event, which is slated to conclude on March 2, will witness the participation of over 1,000 exhibitioners this year. During the inauguration, PM Modi interacted with toy makers from Karnataka’s Channapatna, UP’s Varanasi and Jaipur in Rajasthan. The aim of the fair is to bring the government and the industry together so as to work out a way to make the country the next global hub for the production and sourcing of toys. Hence, the fair would help in attracting investments and also promoting exports.

PM Modi advocated for bringing out the potential of the Indian toy industry so that it can have an identity, and called this as an important part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, adding that the the first toy fair that India is now witnessing was not an economic or business event, but a medium to strengthen the old tradition and culture of sports and cheer in the country. The toy fair would also serve as a platform for discussion on toy design, innovation, packaging, technology as well as marketing, he said.

He also asserted that toys made in India worked towards the overall development of children, and the principles of reusing and recycling were also seen in toys. However, he also called for the industry to produce toys that were ecological as well as beneficial for psychology, adding that they should strive to make toys that used less plastic.

While India has a rich history of toys, where popular games like Chess and Ludo were played in ancient times as Chaturanga and Pachisi respectively, the country’s share in the global toy market was very small, he said, adding that a whopping 85% of the toys in India are sourced from abroad. He stressed on the need to change this situation, for which the National Toy Action Plan has also been prepared.