134 companies acquire land in Noida Toy Park
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 6
With as many as 134 industrialists having acquired land at Noida’s Toy Park to set up their factories at a cost of Rs 410.13 crore, the industrial town in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, bordering Delhi, is set to become a major manufacturing hub of toys with enough potential to challenge China’s booming toy industry, according to an official statement.
According to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) officials, India is also unable to compete with foreign players in the toy business due to the higher cost of its products compared to theirs, owing to its whopping manufacturing cost. The Toy Park seeks to reduce the cost of manufacturing Indian toys while guaranteeing its quality.
The toy factories will provide permanent job to 6,157 people, they said.
According to an estimate, India’s toy industry will be worth Rs 147-221 billion by 2024. Against the global average of demand for toys increasing annually by 5%, India’s demand is rising by 10-15%, they added. India currently exports toys worth Rs 18-20 billion annually as the vast majority of manufacturers are present in the unorganised sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for increasing the country’s share in the global toy business last year. Subsequently, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath decided to construct a Toy Park in Noida and 100 acres of land was earmarked in Sector 33 of YEIDA area to promote the industry, they said.