Govt discusses opportunities in toy sectors with industry, global players

NEW DELHI: The government on Saturday held detailed discussions with domestic industry and global players about huge business opportunities in the Indian toy sector.

The meeting was organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in collaboration with the Toy Association of India.

The meeting brought together prominent global and domestic toy manufacturers, retailers, associations, and government officials to discuss the burgeoning opportunities in the domestic toy sector, an official statement said.

The session was chaired by DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, who said that the sector is poised to grow exponentially over the coming years.

Toy exports have jumped 240 per cent since 2014 and imports dipped by 52 per cent during the period, it said.

Singh said that bolstered by a population of about 350 million under the age of 15, the potential for the toy industry and manufacturers in the country is huge.

Speaking at the meeting, Sanjiv, Joint Secretary DPIIT, stressed the urgency and availability of safe, high-quality toys domestically.

Sanjiv invited domestic and global companies to formulate strategies that aided in decisively taking the industry forward.

During the discussions, the industry pointed out own growth stories and the challenges overcome to increasingly expand domestic operations. Manu Gupta, Chairman of Toy Association of India, highlighted the achievements of the industry in the last few years, especially on the back of more than 9,600 registered MSME toy manufacturing units, and 8 GI (geographical indication) toy clusters in the country. The event saw participation from over 50 domestic manufacturers such as Playgro, Sunlord, Micro-Plastics, Aequs, Funskool, Dream-Plast.