The central government of India organized ‘India Toy Fair 2021’ which begun on 27th February and will end on 4th March. The fair is held on a virtual platform owing to the restriction of an ongoing pandemic. The Prime minister of India has inaugurated this first-of-its-kind event, which is in line with the Indian government’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat call. This first-ever digitally accessible toy exhibition is a platform where people not only browse but buy different toys and participate in the event with various stakeholders of the Indian toy industry.
The official website for the Fair was launched on 12th February, which enables the exhibitors, parents, children, teachers, and other stakeholders to register themselves, if they wish to participate in the Toy Fair. Apart from selling and purchasing of toys, the fair also focuses on education sector by organizing knowledge sessions and discussions involving many experts. Moreover, the fair also focuses on the areas which are emphasized in the new National Education Policy 2020, such as play-based and activity-based learning, use of puzzles in learning, outdoor and indoor play, and use of games to promote critical thinking, which makes education more engaging and enjoyable.
Over 1000 exhibitors across different states and Union Territories have registered for this digital fair. The virtual stalls are organized by the state governments with dedicated clusters. In this fair, different classical and handmade toys from different Indian states are available for all registered visitors. More than 24 lakh people have registered and around 29 lakh cumulative visitors have explored the fair in 6 days.
The government has also launched ‘Toycathon’ which is an online hackathon for innovative toys and games concepts. Toycathon is conceived to challenge young and innovative minds to conceptualize the traditional games and toys which are based on ‘Bharatiya’ civilization, culture, ethos, mythology, and history of India. This fair showcasing the toys from Kashmir to Kerala is majorly a boost to the $1.5 billion toy industry and makes India stand out for its rich and multifarious toy production.
