DD News Panel Discussion | India Toy Fair 2021 | Krishan Jagota | Kinjal Shah | Dr. Anju Chazot

Namaskar! Welcome to this special program. I am Seenu Mishra, and today we are discussing the toy industry and India's Atmanirbhar Bharat. India's toy industry is primarily in the unorganized sector, with over 6,000 small and medium enterprises. About 85% of toys in India are imported from China, followed by Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Germany, Hong Kong, and the United States. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on many occasions spoken about the Indian toy industry playing a major role in the global toy market. In this direction, the government is fully committed to encouraging Indian producers and reducing dependence on foreign toys by making the country self-reliant. Now the country's toy industry has been included among the government's top priorities, which is being considered an auspicious sign for the country's traders and small industries. According to an estimate, the annual turnover of India's toy market is approximately 25,000 to 30,000 crore rupees, of which China's share is about 65%, about 5% are imported from other countries, and the remaining 30% are manufactured in India. In the primary education and cottage industry areas, there are over 6,000 toy manufacturers. According to experts, the Indian toy sector can do better and can give tough competition in domestic and global markets. Today in this program, we will discuss in detail the various challenges facing the sector, their solutions, government policies, and how India can become self-reliant in the toy industry. But before that, let's look at this special report.

On Thursday, at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, Union Finance Minister Smriti Irani, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal jointly launched the India Toy Fair 2021 website. The idea of organizing a toy fair came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat program. He shared how his relative went to Delhi's Sadar Bazar market to buy toys as gifts for children. This market is well known for bicycles and toys. Earlier, expensive toys meant imported toys, and even cheaper toys were from abroad. But now, many shopkeepers there are telling customers that they should buy Made in India products, and customers are also demanding Made in India toys. This is a tremendous change in thinking — it is living proof of how much the thinking of the country's citizens is changing, and that too within just one year. Economists cannot even quantify this change. The purpose of this fair is to provide incentives under Atmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal for Local, initiatives started by the government to promote industries. On this occasion, Union Minister Smriti Irani said that it was PM Modi's dream to promote small industries, and today several ministries are working together on this plan. Our cottage industries, artisans, and traditional handcrafted toys will receive support through this. Due to the tremendous increase, over 1,600 registrations for the India Toy Fair 2021 have already been received. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said on this occasion that the country's new education policy will not only change India's image in the world regarding education, but we are also working on how children can move from talent to startups through education and toys. The policy we have brought is aimed at revolutionary change, building a New India. Union Minister Piyush Goyal said our competition is not with any one country, but we are working on a plan to promote small industries in the country. He said the coordination among all government ministries is an example of this. By 2030, our concern is more about ensuring high-quality 'Made in India' products. It is believed that the global toy market is worth 7 lakh crore rupees, and through these commendable steps, it is hoped that more quality toys will be made in India, which will be widely appreciated both domestically and internationally. Six ministries of the central government have united to support the toy industry and have taken a resolve to organize the country's first-ever toy exhibition, for which a 14-day virtual fair called the India Toy Fair 2021 is being organized, starting from February 27 and running for two months.

Welcome back. To discuss this special topic, we have three very special guests joining us. First, we have Krishna, who is a product designer and comes from the West. Welcome to this program. Our second guest is Kinjal Shah, who is Group Vice President at Hamleys. A very warm welcome to you. And our third guest is Dr. Anju of the Mahatma Gandhi International School and Deccan Chargers. Sir, Madam, a very warm welcome to you as well. I would like to start with Krishna. As we mentioned in our introduction, the Indian toy industry and market have great potential to grow, but there are some problems and roadblocks that need to be addressed. When the Prime Minister calls for taking India's toy industry to a global level and there is government support available, where do you see India's toy industry and players today?

Thank you for your kind words. First of all, India is a country where for thousands of years many innovations have happened, and especially in the toy industry — the innovation that happens today is recognized internationally, whether it is chess or famous board games. So when we talk about all this, Indians have had a 'nice thing' happening for a long time. Now, when design, manufacturing, and retail in India are coming together with government intervention, then definitely we will invest and boost this. And from the opportunities that are visible, I believe India's time is going to come.

Okay. I would like to ask Kinjal Shah — how should India's toy industry progress, and what is the current situation of the toy industry in India? Could you tell our viewers about it?

Absolutely, we will continue to ask you more questions. With us is Dr. Anju, founder of the Mahatma Gandhi International School. Since you are connected with schools, and at yesterday's press conference, the Union Education Minister was present and said that in the new education policy, through play-based and price-based education, children will learn, understand, their talent will flourish, and they will move towards startups. How do you see the new national education policy giving more encouragement and support to the toy industry?

Absolutely. But when it comes to a national toy policy — why hasn't one been made yet? And if a policy is made in the coming days, what kind of things would you, as entrepreneurs who know the industry closely, suggest to the government so that the toy policy includes all these things and its implementation ensures that India becomes self-reliant in the toy industry?

Look, there is one very big point that comes up in the Indian market, and that is cost. We are importing toys from China because, keeping Indian economic price points in mind, the government has to think about manufacturing subsidies. The second big issue is that we need to create an ecosystem where everything — setting, packaging, and all related things — comes together in one place, like a manufacturing cluster. When all these things come together in one place, a long-term impact will be felt. And finally, another thing is that designers and investors like us need some incentives for creating products that are not necessarily expensive, but are sustainable and incorporate traditional crafts like chikankari, which would be very positive.

Okay. But we know that China's share in the Indian toy industry is about 65% in terms of value. They import from China, about 5% from other countries, and 30-35% is produced in India. But when it comes to loans from banks and financial help is needed, what do you think is the current situation? What kind of sacrifices do small manufacturers have to make?

But Kinjal Shah ji, you said that Chinese products keep coming into India. But we also know that at the quality level, they are not that great — they are use-and-throw type. You use them for a few days, a few months, and they become useless. But comparatively, Indian market products are good in quality. Yet when it comes to price, we lose out there. What do you think — should the price be sufficient and compatible so that people buy Indian products instead of Chinese products? What measures should be taken in this regard?

Since you are connected with schools, what do you think — the products you have been using in your school, if Chinese products are available at a lower price, and Indian products are a little more expensive, would you still prefer to refer Indian products?

First of all, the Chinese products coming into the market do have different art forms, designing, and international styling. The toys look appealing, and they are mostly made of plastic. What I want to say is that the second issue is that we need to define something — and this is where the knowledge is missing. We use these products a lot, and we can do a lot with them. We need to create strategies — how to use colors, how to use them effectively, and this is where Gandhi ji's new education initiative comes in. The government is connected with us, and from industry to schools, children can work on innovation projects. Children in their groups naturally create innovative strategies and innovative products. If possible, this connection with Gandhi ji's vision can complete the circle. To give you an example, when we talk about Indian art forms — like Gond art from different parts of the country — which you are making and selling, the visual feel and the knowledge it adds... this is something the children today are not exposed to at all, because of the influx of homogenized international toys. The children don't even know what these things are. So we are trying to use these art forms in our work. Our knowledge has been lost, and the children in schools, the game of Simple... and many of the Idli stand... we had gathered, both boys and girls were supporting the spinning top, watching it, and playing with it the whole day. The point that was pointed out is that the toys in the market — but children and marketing... the industry needs to support the subscription button because the products that fit into India's culture are not being promoted enough. That is why the industry here should create products according to our culture and heritage, so that our children can easily learn and move forward.

Absolutely correct, and Dr. Anju is absolutely right. Plus, if we use this, we won't need to import. We have consulting firms, toy designers, and investors. We ourselves go and do all the research. We have sat with 120 children and their parents, done research, and created many fiber products. Manufacturing has already started on some of them. And it is absolutely correct — children's solid animals and imagination, as they grow up, we somehow forget them. We are trying to extract that invisible, random creativity from them. For example, we asked children how to play chess, and a child picked up the king and put it on the horse, which is technically wrong, but... if we can add storytelling into this, a great story can be written. On the other hand, toys have become a way of learning — that my child will definitely learn through toys. When parents go to buy toys, they use their own reference for the whole time. Sometimes they even buy brooms for girls, while the child has no interest in it. If we look at children, the child always knows what is right for them. The child has great creative imagination, but that has been muted by the products available today. We are continuing to work on this, and this is a problem that we need to address by connecting with schools. The more children we can invite into this, the better, because they are our end consumers. We also want the same thing — our children should understand these things, learn through toys, and move forward.

We will return to your thoughts and perspectives, but for now, we will take a break. Stay with us, keep watching DD News.

Welcome back. You are watching my special program, Atmanirbhar Bharat. And today we are discussing the toy industry — how India can become self-reliant in this regard. But I also want to tell you and ask you that as far as my information goes, there is no...

If such a design institute is dedicated to pricing, and it doesn't exist now, do you think that if one or more such institutes open in bigger cities, it would give innovators more opportunities and help understand Indian demand?

So if we can address this pricing issue with such institutes in India, that would be quite beneficial.

Regarding the 100% aspect, if people are familiar with stars and toys, they would know that today there are around 10,000 toy companies and every three to four months about 2,000 to 3,000 new toys come out. As madam was saying, along with food, fashion, and electronics, the toy segment also has a large market.

Parents are subscribing to this at this time, and we have learned something about what children need. Children are getting bored within about a month. They need variety.

If there's an industry body, they should like, share, and subscribe to it. Industry people like us who can market and sell to major retailers, it's very well liked. One thing I want to say is that this industry's potential is huge — we need to take it from here to 550. The subscription is important. If you press on this and don't ignore it, we should take this forward together. It's important that what has been launched, you can see it first.

As you were mentioning about exploitation, this is my question — children and marketing to them. The product is about nutrition, but when you look at children's faces... like in schools, the investment, testing... Thank you. The parents' perspective — this is about what interests children. The most interesting response from customers in our store is that for a product to succeed, two things are essential: innovation and packaging. Packaging is a very important thing.

Packaging is extremely important, and also sustainability. Many times, scientific innovations end up in packaging that is quite different. Both these things are very necessary — how we can make settings for this.

My question is related to your points — when we talk about big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, where startups have access to customers, it's not that difficult. But if you talk about smaller cities, for people who want to establish themselves in this industry, what problems do they face compared to startups in big cities? What seed money is available and what government help do they get?

If you're on a beautiful journey, there will be a big boost from this. How do you tell someone to subscribe to your product in today's age? They can log in, submit, update registration, and much more. If your product is good and you're getting demand, market placement is available quite well.

My question to you and to Krishna would be — across all categories, China dominates with its output supporting various countries, including India. The Indian industry that manufactures toys — in terms of quality and tender pricing, can we match them? And if we can match, how do we export and which countries want to import Indian toys?

I can answer that question. In our company, we operate in India and have about 50 stores worldwide. We've done a lot of work recently on Indian products. The quality we used to get has improved. We've already started with our own quality products. In terms of quality, India has made significant progress. In terms of manufacturing and new units, it's taking some time because there are machines and injection molding involved. The quality takes time to come through. But I think within six months to a year, products will be available. The challenge is that China currently has huge quantity capacity for toy production — if they need to make even one item, their scale is so large that the cost comes down significantly.

Coming to complex junior-level manufacturing, do we have manufacturers who make electronic medical software-type products? If we talk about international medicines and support, we definitely have that. But our maximum toys that are made are mostly mechanical. However, children's interest is now quite electronic — electronic goods are what they're drawn to. How do we promote this shift from mechanical to electronic? How do you see this evolving?

For small children, we give them a cardboard box and they turn it into a game. It's neither mechanical nor electronic — they can pick up 108 kitchen knives and make a game out of it. And designers... the magic and order of merit in design — I'll show you this small thing, a red cloth, and I put it inside. See how small children react — look, the cloth has disappeared! These are Indian classical toys with music. Another point about mobile phones is interesting — children mirror what they see parents do. A mobile phone changes images every second, driving a new consumption pattern.

Krishna, what's your reaction? Children who disturb their mothers and fathers by grabbing mobile phones — do children keep playing with it like a war, or do they talk on mobile?

I don't quite understand what exactly you mean by plug and play policy — what do you want the industry to do? But what I understand is about how things work. There are many things — every year the market is growing positively. For anyone to grow in the long term, for five years of play... there's progress, but not something achievable in just one year.

There's a difference in our view. When a toy is priced at 40 rupees per child in India, our right-side section is smaller. We need to be very careful with manufacturing. Indian culture — when we were small, we used to play traditional games. The same line continues.

How can we make Indian products more favorable? If a product comes and its packaging isn't right, the child won't be attracted. The child should feel they want to buy it. Demand is created where growth is highest. When I talk with Kinjal about India's toy industry moving forward, many of our viewers and ordinary people — when they pick up a product from a store, especially when it says 'Made in China,' they tend to buy it. But the good sign is that when Indian products manufactured in India are available at the same price as Chinese products, market penetration of Indian companies increases. How can we bridge this gap?

Kinjal, you're connected to education — my question is about reaching rural areas. In big cities, people have money to buy expensive toys. But in villages where purchasing power is low, even in anganwadi centers, how can these products reach there?

Krishna here. My comment is about how India can become self-reliant, especially in this toy industry. What kind of policies should come in the coming days — you can submit comments. We have a very good outlook from the government because the 'Make in India' program is happening and is very successful. India 2021 is coming, and the Prime Minister's vision is that not only should we manufacture in India, but also come up with creative intellectual property in India. Whether it's school children or our inverter company, we all need to create together. We need to secure intellectual property so no country can duplicate it. Definitely, Indian storytelling and our creative industry's storytelling should reach the Nobel stage. I feel excited that good days are coming for the industry.

Thank you very much. Thank you to all of you as well for joining us today. That's all for today's episode. Thank you to our entire team.