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Govt wakes up to Chinese threat in toy industry
New Delhi, June 03: Of every 100 toys manufactured in India, not even one reaches children across the globe, compared to China, which makes for over 70 per cent of the world`s total toy products.
New Delhi, June 03: Of every 100 toys manufactured in India, not even one reaches children across the globe, compared to China, which makes for over 70 per cent of the world's total toy products.
"The absence of a major government initiative for the industry, poor infrastructure, lack of mechanisation and quality controls in the industry, all led to the condition we are in today, with no export consciousness," says Vishnu Swarup Agarwal, President, Toy Association of India.
The Indian toy industry, which stands at Rs 5,000 crore is large and growing, but it is disorganised and there are some steep logistical problems to navigate, including distribution and marketing, says Agarwal.
It is dominated by about 1,250 small and even smaller producers, scattered across the country. Most of them are in northern states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, with others in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Still others are in tiny clusters across central India.
However, of late, concerned about the Chinese dragon spreading its tentacles worldwide and even threatening the domestic market with cheap imports, the government as well as the industry have come up with many initiatives to boost the country's share in the world trade, notes Agarwal.
"India has a large toy industry, it's just that we need to organise the industry, look at new designs in demand outside and expose international community to the Indian toys and make them aware of our potential," says D K Mittal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.
"The government has come out with many promotional schemes for the industry as also design improvement programmes. Some of the items which were reserved for SSIs too have been dereserved. However, it will take some time before the industry can come up," says Mittal.
"A National programme for Development of Toys is also in place and a unit upgradation programme is also taking place with the help of various agencies. Two-third of the industry is in unorganised sector and it is this section that we are now concentrating on," says Agarwal, noting the aim is to bring them all under one umbrella keeping the export market in mind. Bureau Report
The Indian toy industry, which stands at Rs 5,000 crore is large and growing, but it is disorganised and there are some steep logistical problems to navigate, including distribution and marketing, says Agarwal.
It is dominated by about 1,250 small and even smaller producers, scattered across the country. Most of them are in northern states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, with others in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Still others are in tiny clusters across central India.
However, of late, concerned about the Chinese dragon spreading its tentacles worldwide and even threatening the domestic market with cheap imports, the government as well as the industry have come up with many initiatives to boost the country's share in the world trade, notes Agarwal.
"India has a large toy industry, it's just that we need to organise the industry, look at new designs in demand outside and expose international community to the Indian toys and make them aware of our potential," says D K Mittal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.
"The government has come out with many promotional schemes for the industry as also design improvement programmes. Some of the items which were reserved for SSIs too have been dereserved. However, it will take some time before the industry can come up," says Mittal.
"A National programme for Development of Toys is also in place and a unit upgradation programme is also taking place with the help of various agencies. Two-third of the industry is in unorganised sector and it is this section that we are now concentrating on," says Agarwal, noting the aim is to bring them all under one umbrella keeping the export market in mind. Bureau Report