UP drafting policy to tap Rs 20,000 crore toys market

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Apr 7, 2021

Looking to tap the estimated Rs 20,000 crore domestic toys market, the Uttar Pradesh government is drafting a toys manufacturing policy to boost indigenous production.

Of late, the state has expressed keenness to facilitate the setting up of toys manufacturing clusters in UP. Currently, the domestic toys space is dominated by cheap imports, mainly from China, to the tune of 90 per cent of the market.

UP additional chief secretary, MSME and export promotion, Navneet Sehgal, today asked officials to expedite the drafting of the proposed toys manufacturing policy.

In fact, the Yogi Adityanath government is planning to set up four toys manufacturing clusters in Varanasi, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency; Gorakhpur, the pocket borough of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath; Jhansi and Chitrakoot.

Besides, UP has also proposed to develop a Toy City in Greater Noida to take on the Dragon in the international arena. The mega project is estimated to attract investment of Rs 3,000 crore and create direct employment opportunities for 50,000 people.

According to the state government, there is a robust demand for traditional terracotta toys manufactured in Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Jhansi and Chitrakoot. The proposed toys clusters will offer modern technologies to entrepreneurs and make available quality toys to the consumers at affordable prices.

The Indian toys manufacturers have been demanding the government to facilitate the setting up of clusters to counter the large volume of imports from China.

Meanwhile, the UP government is also preparing a district wise export plan to cover all the 75 districts. So far, 60 districts have already prepared their export blueprints, while the process is being speeded up for the remaining 15 districts.