PM Modi urges STARTUPS to join local manufacturers for making India hub for toy production
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stunned the nation when he stressed the need for making India a hub for making toys. He is of the view that the Startups can play a major role in this direction. He said the need of the hour is to promote local toys and become Vocal for Local Toys. He lauded the rich tradition of manufacture of local toys in the country and the skill, talent and expertise of our artisans in making good toys. Modi cited the examples of places like Channapatna in Ramnagaram in Karnataka, Kondaplli in Krishna in Andhra Pradesh, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, Dhubri in Assam, and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh which are noted as toy clusters. They needed much more encouragement and promotion PM Modi said adding the Global Toy Industry is more than 7 lakh crore rupees but India’s share is very little in this sector. He called upon the cottage industries, small industries, MSMEs, big industries and private entrepreneurs to join hands to enhance India’s share in this sector. Mr Modi mentioned C V Raju from Vishakhapatnam in this context. The Eti- Koppakaa toys of his village were very popular once upon a time. These toys were made of wood, round from all sides and therefore there was no scope for injury to children. C V Raju has now started a new movement for Eti-Koppakaa toys with the artisans of his village. And now by making excellent quality toys, C V Raju has brought back the lost glory of these local toys. Good quality toys should be manufactured which are also favourable to the environment. The local toy industry can bring back the glorious past and add to the golden future of the country, PM Modi said and recalled Gurudeva Rabindranath Tagore’s words that toys should not only bring out the childhood of a child but also his or her creativity. He added that in the National Education Policy, a lot of attention has been given on the impact of toys on different aspects of children’s lives. Picture courtesy to Swadesi
