(a) whether proposals from various State Governments including Gujarat have been received to establish the toys units to promote the toys business;
(b) whether the Government has any plan to promote the craftsmen of tribal areas of Gujarat in this sector; and
(c) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto?
MINISTER OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
(SHRI NARAYAN RANE)
(a) to (c): Government of India has taken several steps to promote and develop indigenous toy industry. To cater to the design and innovation related needs of MSMEs including toy sector, the Ministry through its network of MSME Technology Centres works for design and development of tools, moulds, dies, jigs, fixtures, prototypes etc. Besides, Ministry of MSME is conducting various skilled development programmes for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs in accordance with the demands of industry to fill the gap of skilled workforce in the MSME sector including Toy Industry.
Under the Scheme of Funds for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) of this Ministry, assistance is provided for creation of Common Facility Centres with latest machines, design centres, Raw Material Bank, skill development, exposure visit etc. A total of 14 Toy Clusters across the country have been approved under the scheme benefitting 8839 artisans with an outlay of Rs. 41.60 crore (approx.). Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) is also providing need based support to Toy Clusters in the area of technology, marketing, soft and hard interventions and infrastructural support for sustainable development of handicraft artisans.