Flipkart, Walmart, Toy Association of India led market workshop
Indian toy industry exports in FY 2022-23 rose by 239% while imports declined by 52% in FY2022-23 compared to FY2014-15, following the development of overall quality of the toys available in the domestic market, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry http://commerce.gov.in said on 11 June.
In order to enable further growth, increased market access and development of new-age marketing skills, DPIIT has conducted a workshop with Flipkart and Indian Toy Industry on 12 June 2024.
Around 100 participants joined the workshop along with Flipkart http://flipkart.com , Walmart http://walmart.com and Toy Association of India https://tai-india.org/ .
The workshop was to enhance India’s position and capabilities in the global toy supply chain and help the toy manufacturers understand the nuances of online selling which shall in turn help in the growth of sales and market access https://www.ibef.org/ .
The Government has undertaken a series of initiatives including formulation of a comprehensive National Action Plan for Toys (NAPT) to promote designing of toys, using toys as a learning resource, monitoring quality of toys, promoting indigenous toy clusters etc https://fieo.org/ .
The Government’s initiatives for development of Indian toy industry include:
Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on toys (HS code 9503) was increased from 20% to 60% in February 2020, and subsequently to 70% in March 2023.
Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has mandated sample testing of each import consignment to curb the import of sub-standards toys
A Quality Control Order (QCO) for Toys was issued in 2020, with effect from 1 Jan 2021 http://www.jhea.in/ .
Special provisions were notified by BIS on 17 Dec 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.
BIS has granted more than 1,400 licences to domestic manufacturers and more than 30 licences to foreign manufacturers for manufacture of toys with BIS standard marks https://www.makeinindia.com/home/ .
Cluster-based approach adopted to support domestic toy industry. The Ministry of MSME http://msme.gov.in is supporting 19 toy clusters under the Scheme of Funds for the Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), and the Ministry of Textiles http://ministryoftextiles.gov.in is providing designing and tooling support to 26 toy clusters.
Several promotional initiatives have also been undertaken to promote indigenous toys and encourage innovation https://www.wto.org/ , including The Indian Toy Fair 2021, Toycathon, etc.
With the workshop, DPIIT had hoped to synergized the industry with online marketplaces, thereby enabling opportunities for growth. fiinews.com
