Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday highlighted that the Centre’s strides in the toy manufacturing sector have boosted India’s quest for ‘Aatmanirbharta’.

Responding to a post by Mann Ki Baat Updates handle on X, Modi in a post on X said, “It was during one of the #MannKiBaat episodes that we had talked about boosting toy manufacturing and powered by collective efforts across India, we’ve covered a lot of ground in that.”

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“Our strides in the sector have boosted our quest for Aatmanirbharta and popularised traditions and enterprise,” Modi further said in the post.

Earlier, Mann Ki Baat Updates in a post on X along with a short video clip said, “Here’s how PM @narendramodi’s #MannKiBaat breathed new life into a 600-year-old craft of Etikoppaka toys, saving a treasured tradition and livelihood of many!”

The Indian toy industry has now expanded its global footprint to more than 100 countries including the US, the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and even China from where toys were imported in large quantities, a senior official of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said.

As part of its strong commitment to create a better ecosystem for the toy industry, the Government of India has identified the sector as one of the champion sectors, with a long-term vision to create a global market for ‘Made in India’ toys.

According to industry estimates, India’s exports of toys, games and sports articles between 2014-15 to 2022-23 increased by 239 per cent, whereas the imports fell by 52 per cent.

Further, the report presented the current market size of the industry is $1.7 billion, and expected to reach $4 billion by 2032 with a 10.5 per cent annual growth rate.

The government has been encouraging toymakers to display their products at trade fairs such as IITF 2024 in Delhi which had elicited a good response.