On February 22, 2021, the Central Government approved 8 toy manufacturing clusters at a cost of Rs 2,300 crore viz. three clusters in Madhya Pradesh, two in Rajasthan, and one each in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
- This decision has been taken on the lines of “National Action Plan for Indian Toy Story” that seeks to reduce import dependence of toys which was around $1.5 billion in FY2020 of which 90% of imports was from China and Taiwan.
- In this regard, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will develop toy clusters under existing schemes such as the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (Sfurti) which is currently being implemented in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
- The plan is to have 35 toy clusters under the scheme.
Key Points:
–These clusters will manufacture toys made of wood, lac, palm leaves, bamboo and fabric to boost India’s traditional toys industry.
–Currently, the toy industry in India is primarily unorganised, comprising around 4,000 MSMEs.
–Also, as per the Quality Council of India (QCI), 67% of imported toys failed a testing survey.
— India’s first virtual India Toy Fair-2021 will be held from February 27 to March 2, which will offer opportunities to explore and buy toys from over 1,000 exhibitors across the country.
About Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)
It is an initiative by Ministry of MSME to promote Cluster development by merging the following schemes:
- The Scheme for Enhancing Productivity and Competitiveness of Khadi Industry and Artisans
- The Scheme for Product Development, Design Intervention and Packaging (PRODIP)
- The Scheme for Rural Industries Service Centre (RISC) and
- Other small interventions like Ready Warp Units, Ready to Wear Mission, etc.
Focus:
The scheme offers incentives such as skill development, capacity building, creation of facilities such as common facility centres, rehousing facilities and marketing and e-commerce assistance to local industries.
Financial Assistance:
The financial assistance provided under this scheme for any specific project is at a maximum cap of Rs 8 crore to support Soft, Hard and Thematic interventions.
Initiation:
The Revamped SFURTI scheme was started on 1st August 2014 with an outlay of Rs. 149.44 crore for developing 71 clusters (including coir) with coverage of 44500 artisans (approx.) in the first phase. The guidelines were further revised on June 30, 2015.
- The Nodal Agencies include KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission), Coir Board, IIE (Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship) Guwahati, NIMSME (National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Hyderabad, NIESBUD (National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development) Noida, all MSME DIs (Development Institute) and all DICs (District Industries Centre of State Government).
Recent Related News:
i.On January 15-16, 2021, a two-day event ‘Prarambh’ – Startup India International Summit 2021 was virtually organized by DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India from New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Piyush Vedprakash Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
ii.On January 19, 2021, the 1st India-EU IPR dialogue 2021 was held virtually between European Union (EU) Commission and DPIIT to discuss key Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues affecting businesses.
About Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT):
Parent Ministry– Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Secretary – Guruprasad Mohapatra
