Budget 2021: Govt likely to formulate dedicated policies for toys sector

The government is likely to announce the formulation of a dedicated policy for the toys sector in the Union Budget 2021-22. This policy will help in boosting domestic manufacturing and in creating a robust ecosystem for the sector in India and also to attract startups.

Union commerce and industry ministry is already taking measures to promote domestic manufacturing of toys such as a quality control order for the sector and raised import duty on toys in 2020.

India reportedly has a very low share in the global toys market and accounts for less than 0.5 per cent of international demand at $100 million. In India, the toys industry is largely in the unorganised sector and comprises about 4,000 small and medium enterprises. Approximately 85 per cent of toys are imported in India, most of these imports being from China followed by Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the US, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Germany.

The other areas which could be looked at to tap this opportunity could be promotion of research and development and design centres for toys. "Boosting manufacturing would also help increase exports of toys from India. Countries like China and Vietnam are major players in the sector," a source in the Union Commerce Ministry told news agency PTI.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has also proposed a roadmap to encourage domestic manufacturing in alignment with global trade trends. The industry body added, "This will help Indian industry integrate into the global value chain while becoming competitive with its goods and services in the world markets."

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