INDIAN TOY INDUSTRY
- R Jeswant , CEO , Funskool
The Indian toy industry has been in the limelight ever since our Prime Minister ’ s call to the industry in his monthly “ Mann Ki Baat ” address last year , to be “ Atmanirbhar ” in toys and to become a hub for the global toy industry . The Prime Minister had called for the industry to be “ Vocal for Local ” and asked for development of toys & games based in and on India to arrest the outflow of foreign exchange worth crores of rupees .
In year 2021 , many new events were launched to promote innovative ideas for toys and games . Several seminars were organized , all aimed at promoting awareness about toys and to work towards increasing India ’ s share of the world toy market which is estimated at over US $ 90 billion .
Meanwhile attention was also paid to improving the quality of the toys produced in India while ensuring that quality standards are maintained on all imports into the country . The new regulations set by the Bureau of Indian Standards ( BIS ) was implemented with effect from 1st January 2021 . Today , all factories producing toys in India are required to be certified by the BIS and product testing has been made mandatory . The factories from which toys are being imported into India are also required to be inspected and certified by the BIS . The higher import duties notified in the 2020 budget provided the opportunity for Indian manufacturers to compete effectively against imports from countries like China .
The results so far have been quite encouraging with a lot of design and development activity being undertaken by Indian manufacturers . We have also seen India making rapid strides as a sourcing destination for many International toy companies . With consistent policies to regulate the quality of imported toys , the Indian Toy industry which currently has only a miniscule share of the world toy market is expected to register higher growth rates in the years to come . The global toy industry is over US $ 90 billion and the future is loaded heavily in favour of India with its large population of children and a market which will grow exponentially in the years to come . The Indian Toy industry has to be ready to meet the demand which is bound to grow and the steps being taken now will have a significant impact . The industry being labour intensive has the potential to provide employment opportunities on a very large scale .
For the industry to sustain its growth it is absolutely essential for us to design and develop products in India which have global relevance . Indian companies have the potential to design and develop toys for international markets . Funskool ( India ) Limited , in addition to being a source for several major International companies for procuring their products has been able to establish a distribution network for our own brands in over 25 countries and the business is growing rapidly .
Developing our own products and brands is very important to sustain the domestic and export markets . Contract manufacturing for International toy companies has its limitations and is heavily dependant on being price competitive with other sourcing destinations . In the domestic market in India the biggest impediments to growth are low awareness about toys and affordability . We have to build
Page 4 | Kids India Magazine - Sept 2021