Govt to implement scheme to make India toy hub of world   

The Union government in the FY25 Budget on Saturday announced a scheme to make India a global hub for toys by focusing on cluster development.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said the scheme will focus on development of clusters, skills, and a manufacturing ecosystem that will create high-quality, unique, innovative, and sustainable toys that will represent the ‘Made in India’ brand.

“Building on the National Action Plan for Toys, we will implement a scheme to make India a global hub for toys,” she said.

India’s toy exports dropped from USD 177 million in 2021-22 to USD 152 million in 2023-24 due to overall decline in the global demand of these products.

The government’s steps such as mandatory quality norms and increase in customs duties have significantly helped the domestic toy players to boost manufacturing and reduce dependence on Chinese imports.

The industry has long faced challenges in the global trade landscape, consistently being a net importer of toys for many years.

For over a decade, India was heavily relied on China for around 76 per cent of its toy imports.

India’s import bill for toys from China dropped from USD 214 million in FY13 to USD 41.6 million in FY24, leading to a decline in China’s share in India’s toy imports from 94 per cent in FY13 to 64 per cent in FY24, indicating India’s competitiveness in the international toy market.