Toycathon 2021: PM Modi to interact with 1.2 lakh participants in Grand Finale on June 24

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the participants of Toycathon-2021 on Thursday, June 24. The Grand Finale of Toycathon 2021 began on Tuesday, June 22, and will conclude on June 24. Around 1.2 lakh participants from across India registered for the Toycathon where they submitted more than 17000 ideas.

Toycathon 2021

Toycathon 2021 was jointly launched by the Ministry of Education, WCD Ministry, MSME Ministry, DPIIT, Textile Ministry, I&B Ministry, and AICTE on January 5, 2021, to crowd-source innovative toys and games ideas. Around 1.2 lakh participants from across India registered and submitted more than 17000 ideas for the Toycathon 2021, out of which 1567 ideas have been shortlisted for the three days online Toycathon Grand Finale. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, this Grand Finale will have teams with digital toy ideas, while a separate physical event will be organized for non-digital toy concepts. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the participants via video conferencing. His interaction will begin at 11 am. Union Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will also be present on the occasion.

India’s domestic market, as well as the global toy market, offers a huge opportunity to our manufacturing sector. Toycathon-2021 is aimed at boosting the Toy Industry in India to help it capture a wider share of the toy market.

Toycathon 2021 Grand Finale

The grand finale of Toycathon 2021 was inaugurated by Mos Education Sanjay Dhotre and union minister Smriti Irani. On the occasion, Dhotre said, "We must channelize our innovative, creative, and manufacturing prowess to have our share in the global toy sector. This Toycathon will provide an opportunity to young innovative minds to lead the path to “Manufacture in India the toys for the World".

"Do the toys in the market represent our ethos ?. When the markets are flooded with the #IronMan and Thor where are our own superheroes? Why can't we see Abhimanyu and Arjuna? Why not Ahilyabai Holkar or Chhatrapati Shivaji? Many traditional Indian games & toys use the concept of fun & enjoyment along with learning, & are important in shaping up a child's personality. Our NEP 2020 also focuses on the importance of early childhood care & education. It's time to re-discover our Indian games & stories, re-style them and re-package them to be suitable in modern times, and global needs. I urge you, my young friends, to ideate, innovate, incubate, and develop the products considering these aspects," he added.

"I extend my gratitude to all participating ministries & compliment AICTE and the education ministry for making this happen. I'm sure this Hackathon will promote innovations in toy #technology & design, including online games, to reflect Indian ethos and values," Dhotre said.