PM Modi urges people to be ‘vocal for local toys’ that present every aspect of Indianness at Toycathon 2021
In the three-day Toycathon 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on people to be ‘vocal for local toys’ and said that our focus should be on developing toys, games that present every aspect of Indianness in interesting, interactive ways.
Addressing Toycathon 2021 via video conferencing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on people to be ‘vocal for local toys’, stating that about 80 percent of the toys were being imported by India, leading to crores of rupees going abroad, and asserted that it was very important to change this situation.
"Today, we import around 80 percent of our toys from abroad. Which means crores of rupees of the country are going abroad on them. It is very important to change this situation," PM Modi said.
PM Modi also said India's share in the global toy market of approximately $100 billion is only about $1.5 billion.
India, despite being home to many globally popular games like chess, ludo, snakes and ladders etc, is not among the leading developers and manufacturers of toys. The focus of Toycathon 2021 was around using eco-friendly, indigenous, non-hazardous or recycled materials, inculcating positive behaviour and good values, boosting physical and mental fitness, focusing on promoting Vedic mathematics, supporting missions like Swachh Bharat, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, environment conservation, climate change, Digital India, Skill India, Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, and more.
Emphasising the importance of toys, he said if the child's first school is his or her family, then the first book and the first friends are toys.
"Our focus should be on developing toys, games that present every aspect of Indianness in interesting, interactive ways," PM Modi said.
Under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan', Toycathon 2021 is conceived to challenge India’s innovative minds to conceptualise novel toys and games based on Bharatiya civilization, history, culture, mythology, and ethos.
The event was jointly launched by the Ministry of Education, WCD Ministry, MSME Ministry, DPIIT, Textile Ministry, I&B Ministry, and AICTE on January 5, 2021, to crowd-source innovative toys and games ideas, the PMO noted.
Toycathon 2021 gave a unique opportunity to students, teachers, startups and toy experts/professionals in India to submit their innovative toys/games concepts. In the three-day event, around 1.2 lakh participants from across India registered and submitted more than 17,000 ideas for the Toycathon 2021, out of which 1,567 ideas had been shortlisted for the three-day online Toycathon Grand Finale, being held from June 22 to June 24.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)
Edited by Kanishk Singh