DPIIT extends date of implementation of Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020 to January 1, 2021
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The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) today issued a notification extending the date of implementation of Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020, as of January 1, 2021, in place of September 1, 2020.
In a tweet, DPIIT today said, "The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, today issued a notification extending the date of implementation of Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020 as 1.1.2021 in place of 1.9.2020."
This decision allows domestic manufacturers four months of extra time to make necessary arrangements for compliance of standards because of difficulties arising out of COVID-19 pandemic.
Being focused on promoting the domestic toys industry, the government came out with a quality control order and also increased the import duty in February. Quality control order on toys is one of the ways to stop the flow of cheap sub-standard toys into the market.
Reports suggest that around 67 per cent of the toys failed all safety and standard tests, while about 70 per cent of plastic toys failed to meet the safety standards of admissible levels of heavy metals and phthalates, a group of chemicals.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recent past in his call to the nation said India should emerge as a toy hub for the world. He said, India has the talent and ability to become a toy hub and called upon startups to work towards realising this potential while being "vocal about local toys".
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the government''s nodal agency that frames quality standards in coordination with the ministries concerned.
Toys Industry in India
Toys industry primarily belongs to the unorganised sector of India and comprises of about 4,000 small ad medium enterprises.
Data on toys import in the country
Around 85% of the toys are imported to India of which maximum comes from China, which is followed by Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Germany, Hong Kong and the US