First of its kind: BSY lays foundation for Aequs Toy Cluster at Koppal

Bengaluru: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday laid the foundation for what is billed as the first of its kind toy manufacturing cluster in the country at Koppal, which intends to attract Rs 5,000 crore investment and generate direct and indirect employment to an estimated one lakh people.

The Aequs Toy Cluster is part of the state government’s endeavour to establish Karnataka as a toy manufacturing hub of India and to give a fillip to the toy sector, the state industries department said.

“Koppal toy cluster is a landmark milestone for the Karnataka Government’s product-specific industrial cluster development programme. This toy cluster intends to attract an investment of Rs 5,000 crores and generate direct and indirect employment to an estimated 1lakh people in this region,” Yediyurappa said.

The toy manufacturing industry is labour-oriented and most of the workers are women, a release quoted him as having said “Hence, this toy cluster starting at Koppal is a bold step towards empowering women. To empower women, the Karnataka government has allowed women to work at night,” he said.

Karnataka is the third-largest market for toys in India (USD 159 million) 9.1 per cent of the national market The department said the state has invited domestic and global toy makers, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of boosting toy manufacturing in India.

Karnataka is poised to emerge as a leading toy-making cluster due to the robust ecosystem the state has created to support toy-making industries, the industries department said.

The state has supported and nurtured Tool Manufacturing & precision engineering (TMTP), polymers manufacturing clusters Bengaluru, Dharwad, Tumkuru and Mysuru, robust design capacity and testing certification agencies in Bengaluru, Dharwad and Koppal and GTTC (Government Tool Room & Training Centre).

“Koppal has a tradition of making traditional toys such as Kinnala toys. It is against this backdrop that we aim to make Koppal a country’s toy-making hub by promoting this art. I want to thank Aequs, and other toy industries who have joined hands with government initiatives, Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said.

He said the foundation of this toy cluster has played a vital role in unlocking Karnataka’s toy-making capacity today. The Koppal toy cluster will be a one-stop-destination, facilitating globally competitive and reliable manufacturing solutions with co-located facilities. It is an internationally competitive self-sustained ecosystem, catering to all infrastructure requirements of the toy industry, officials said.

The global toy industry experienced continued growth, reaching a value of USD 90.7 billion in 2019, posting a 0.5 per cent growth over 2018. On the other hand, India”s toy industry has grown at a CAGR of 15.9 per cent during 2011-19 to USD 1.75 billion in 2019, Industries Department Principal Secretary Gaurav Gupta said.

“Karnataka’s toy market grew at a CAGR of 17.54 per cent between 2010 and 2017. Currently, Karnataka is the third-largest market for toys in India. It constitutes 9.1 per cent of the national market valued at (USD 159 million), he said. Karnataka also signed six Memorandum of Understanding with toy makers and suppliers in the presence,the release said