Recently, I found one of my childhood toys and, along with it came a wave of nostalgia. As I reflect back on the toys from the 90s it reminded me of Hotwheels, G.I Joes, Walkie-Talkie and Lego. However, as a child I used to ask my parents that why are all these toys Made in China!? Do Indians don’t make toys? Where’s Made in India!?
My incessant curiosity made my mother take me to a local mela and it was like a fantasy world for me. For I came across mitti ke bane toys, tiny animal figurines , the dancing spring dolls, lattoo, tiny Surahi and bird whistles made of mud. I was so fascinated by these toys that I used to wait for that mela to happen. However, unfortunately for me the the local artisans who made these toys, already scarce, disappeared with time. The already rare dancing spring dolls were replaced by Barbie and Lattoos were replayed by Yo-Yo’s and Beyblades. That too being sold at a higher price!
Years passed and it takes me great pleasure to write this that finally the Indian Toy exports have increased from USD 96 million in 2014–15 to USD 326 million in 2022–2023. A whopping surge by 239%. During this period the country’s import of toys have decreased from USD 332 million in 2014-15 to USD 159 million in 2022-23. In other words, a decline of 52%.
India is already a net exporter of toys and aims at overtaking China and Vietnam who at present dominate the global toy market. According to an IIM report, China’s share in India’s total toy imports decreased to 62% in 2022-23. It is decreased to USD 39 million in 2022–2023 from USD 235 million in 2019–2020.
Made In India Push-
The change in scenario is on account of several policy decisions taken by the Modi government. Some of these are-
- Creating a dedicated comprehensive National Action Plan for Toys(NAPT) to promote designing, manufacturing and monitoring of the indigenous toys. NAPT, contains 21 detailed action items that are to be carried out by Central Ministries and departments.
- Then to protect these infant industries the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on toys was increased from 20% to 60%, and in March 2023, it was increased to 70%.
- In an effort to reduce the import of toys that don’t meet requirements. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has made sample testing of every shipment mandatory.
- Numerous non tariff barriers were imposed. For instance, Quality Control Order (QCO) for Toys was issued in 2020.
- Then a mandatory requirement of the BIS approval for the sale of toys in India helped reduce imports. In January 2021, the government banned the sale of toys not certified by BIS. Prior to these regulations India’s dependence on China for toys was 80%.
- Special provisions were notified by BIS in 2020 to grant licences to micro sale units manufacturing toys without testing facility for one year and without establishing in-house testing facility, which was further extended by three years.
- A cluster based approach has been adopted to promote domestic toy industry. Under the SFURTI scheme, the Ministry of MSME is supporting 19 toy clusters.
- Furthermore, the Ministry of Textiles is providing 13 toy clusters support with respect to design and equipment.
- Several initiatives have been taken to promote domestic toys and to encourage innovation. Some of these initiatives include Toycathon and The Indian Toy Fair and giving G.I tags to Indian toys like Kondapalli Bommallu and Channapatna Toys etc.
GAME ON-
All in all, because of the policy initiatives of the government and the endeavors of the domestic manufactures the Indian Toy Industry is booming. The manufacturing units have doubled there’s a reduction in imported units from 33% to 12%. Plus there’s an increase in gross sales value by a CAGR of 10%. The Indian Toy industry is valued at USD 1.7 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $4.4 billion by 2032.
However, the biggest achievement in my opinion is that from now on the Channapatna toys, spring dolls and other Made in India toys and board games won’t be a rare sight for a child. The rise of Great India Toys is on…