Sitharaman Urges Indian Toy Makers to Capture 25% of $179 Billion Global Market

New Delhi: Citing the toy industry’s vast growth potential, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said Indian manufacturers should aspire to capture at least a one-fourth of the global toy market share, which is estimated to reach $179 billion by 2032.

The minister also said that India exports toys to 153 countries and their value reached $186 million in 2025-26, while imports have come down drastically by 71 per cent during 2019-26. “India’s toy market is projected to reach $ 5 billion by 2034, while the global toy market is projected to reach $179 billion by 2032,” she said while addressing at the International toy exhibition here.

“We are still aiming at only five billion US dollars by 2034. I think we are capable of doing a lot better. We have immense potential to capture; at least aim for one quarter of it ($179 billion). That's a big number, no doubt. But we should aim higher. Our aspiration must be far greater to capture a significantly larger share of the expanding global market,” the minister said.

Sitharaman further said that toy imports were earlier concentrated from one country, which was dumping a lot of their cheap goods that had safety issues and were not healthy for children. She also asked the industry to focus on scale and branding.

“Manufacturing is important, but branding creates value. Enduring value is only when your brand can be identified. Aankh band karke kharid lo (Buy it without a second thought), that kind of a branding confidence should come,” she said.

Citing the example of French sports retailer Decathlon, she said: “I was impressed to see how they spend time for quality, and also for branding. Sporting goods market has been seeing a lot of innovation, and they bring it into their stalls,” she said, adding “That's the kind of thing I’m asking.”

The government has taken a series of measures to boost manufacturing of toys and reduce import dependence from countries like China. The government has rolled out mandatory quality control norms and increased import duties from 20 per cent to 60 per cent. It developed a comprehensive National Action Plan for Toys in 2020 to boost local manufacturing and incentivise toy and handicraft manufacturers to make India the next global hub of toys.