On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Toy Fair 2021 through video conferencing.

Prime Minister in his inauguration speech interacted with some of the clusters who will be participating in the fair. In his speech, he pointed out similarities between India’s history and heritage and its significance in facilitating all-around development in children – then as well as now. He also noted that historic Indian toys, specifically, were eco-friendly and concluded that the people in our history knew the science of creating toys that would impact children positively.

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PM further asked the toy makers of the country to try e-markets and get smarter on marketing their products so that Indian toys could be taken globally. Speaking to the toy makers, PM Modi said that organising the country's first toy fair is a matter of pride for all, and it would become a major step in India's journey towards becoming 'Aatmanirbhar'.

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During his interaction with toy makers from different parts of the country, the prime minister said toys make a lasting impact in the mind of children, and the effort of the industry should be to make toys that are better both for ecology and psychology. In this regard, he said that toy makers should consider improvising, for example during the pandemic, dolls could also wear masks.

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India’s first Toy Fair (February 27 to March 2) aims at providing a chance to all stakeholders including buyers, sellers, students, teachers, and designers to create sustainable linkages and encourage dialogue for the overall development of the industry on a virtual platform.

Over 1,000 exhibitors from across 30 states and Union territories will display their products in an e-commerce-enabled virtual exhibition. The fair will also host numerous webinars and panel discussions with eminent Indian and international speakers with proven capabilities in toy design and manufacturing and in addition to it will also showcase traditional Indian toys as well as modern toys including electronic toys, plush toys, puzzles, and games.

During his 'Mann Ki Baat' address in August 2020, the Prime Minister had said that toys not only augment activity but also give flight to aspirations. He earlier too had emphasised boosting of toy manufacturing in India.

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(With Inputs from IANS)