Noida, the industrial town in Gautam Buddha Nagar district, is poised to emerge as a toy manufacturing hub with a total of 134 major firms having acquired land at the proposed Toy Park there and fresh investments of Rs 410 crore expected to be made in the new units.
As per Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) officials, toy factories will provide permanent jobs to 6,157 people. The Toy Park in Noida was set up on 100 acres of land and investors were invited to put their money in the project. As many as 134 companies have so far been allotted land in the Toy Park.
Major companies acquiring land in the Toy Park are Fun Zoo Toys India, Fun Ride Toys LLP, Super Shoes, Ayush Toy Marketing, Sunlord Apparels, Bharat Plastics, Jai Shree Krishna, Ganpati Creations and RRS Traders.
According to YEIDA, the acquisition of land by major toy industry players like Fun Zoo Toys India and Fun Ride Toys was highly significant as they could challenge the monopoly of Chinese toy makers. The biggest challenge before the UP government, however, is that out of the 4,000 micro, small and medium enterprises in the toy manufacturing business, 90 per cent are in the unorganised sector.
As per an estimate, India's toy industry will be worth Rs 147-221 billion by 2024, given the fact that the demand for toys in the country is rising at a faster pace as compared to the global rate. Against the global average demand for toys increasing annually by five per cent, India's demand is rising by 10-15 per cent. However, the fact remains that India currently exports toys worth Rs 18-20 billion annually.
The Toy Park at Noida seeks to reduce the cost of manufacturing of Indian toys while guaranteeing its quality. The UP government is relying on the use of state-of-the-art technology by manufacturers to produce high-quality, more durable and cheaper than the Chinese toys.
Chinese toys are expensive and have a short life. Therefore, it is now believed that the demand for Chinese toys will decrease as Indian toys start flooding markets with manufacturing of toys in Noida.
The demand for Chinese decorative lights and idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi has dropped sharply in the recent past during Diwali because better quality, cheaper and durable indigenous products are available now. Hence, the day is not far away when children will be seen playing with toys made in Noida instead of China.