New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded the Indian toy industry for achieving the success “no one could have imagined”, noting that its export has soared to Rs 2,600 crore from Rs 300-400 crore.
When it comes to Indian toys, the echo of ‘vocal for local’ is being heard everywhere, he said in his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ broadcast.
He said toys worth more than Rs 3,000 crore used to be imported but it has reduced by 70 per cent.
“It is a matter of joy that during this period, India has exported toys worth more than Rs 2,600 crore to foreign countries. Whereas earlier, only toys worth Rs 300-400 crore used to go out of India. All this happened during the Corona period,” Modi said.
He noted that he had earlier spoken about India having the potential to become a powerhouse in exports of toys.
Local toys of India are eco-friendly, consonant with both tradition and nature, he said.
“Due to our youngsters, start-ups and entrepreneurs, what our toy industry has achieved, the successes we have achieved, no one could have imagined,” he added.
The prime minister said India’s toy sector has proven its mettle by transforming itself, with manufacturers now making toys based on Indian mythology, history and culture.
Toy clusters are there everywhere in the country, and small entrepreneurs are getting a lot of benefit from it as their toys are now going around the world, he said.
Toy manufacturers from India are working closely with the world’s leading brands, he said.
Noting that the start-up sector is paying full attention to the world of toys, he said a start-up named Shumme Toys in Bangalore is focusing on eco-friendly toys while Arkidzoo Company in Gujarat is making AR-based flash cards and story books.
Pune-based Funvention is engaged in kindling the interest of children in science, technology and maths through learning, toys and activity puzzles, he said, adding that start-ups are doing a great job.
“Let us all together make Indian toys more popular all over the world. Along with this, I would also like to urge the parents to buy more and more Indian toys, puzzles and games,” he said.
In his speech, the prime minister also highlighted the growing global interest in India’s traditional forms of medicine as the fight against COVID-19 continues.
He said the increasing interest of people in holistic healthcare has helped everyone a lot.
“There is a growing interest in Ayurveda and Indian medicine around the world. This is one of the major reasons why Ayush exports have witnessed a record growth and it is also a matter of joy that many new start-ups are also emerging in this sector,” he said.
Recently, a global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit was held, and investment proposals of about Rs 10,000 crore rupees had been received, he said.
He added that a huge effort is also being made in the field of varied medicinal plants and herbs.
The Indian Virtual Herbarium was launched in the month of July, and it is an example of how digital world can be used to connect with our roots, he said.
PM urges people to visit historical rly stations in their vicinity
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said many railway stations in the country are rich in history and urged people to visit such stations in their vicinity to know about their significance in the freedom struggle.
The railways observed a week of ‘Azadi ki Rail Gadi’, from July 18-23, through 27 trains and 75 railway stations, across 24 states that are linked to the Indian freedom struggle.
In these 75 stations, apart from the usual decorations of lights and other ornamentations, events such as street plays in local language, light-and-sound shows, display of patriotic films and songs were also played.
“These 75 stations are being decorated very ornately. Many types of programmes are also being organized in these stations. You should also take out time to visit one such historical station in your vicinity. You will get to know in detail about pages from the history of the freedom movement that you have not been aware of.
“I urge the students of school, and the teachers to take the small children of their school to the nearby station and narrate the whole chain of events to those children,” said Modi in his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast.
Modi also referred to the Gomoh Junction in Jharkhand which is now officially known as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Junction Gomoh and explained why it has been renamed.
“Netaji Subhas was successful in dodging British officers by boarding the Kalka Mail. All of you must have heard the name of Kakori Railway Station near Lucknow. The names of bravehearts like Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaq Ullah Khan are associated with this station.
“The brave revolutionaries had displayed their might to the British by looting the treasury of the British being carried by train. Whenever you talk to the people of Tamil Nadu, you will get to know about Vanchi Maniyachchi Junction in Thoothukudi district. This station is named after Tamil freedom fighter Vanchinathan ji. This is the same place where Vanchi, 25 years of age then, had punished one British collector for his actions,” he said.
During the celebrations organised by the Indian Railways, among the 27 trains identified, some were linked to Mahatma Gandhi — the Ahimsa Express which runs between Ahmedabad and Pune, Ashram Express (Ahmadabad – Delhi); some to famous poet Rabindranath Tagore who wrote songs hailing the Indian independence movement and raising the spirits of the freedom fighters like the Shantiniketan Express (Howrah – Bolpur), Gitanjali Express (Mumbai CST–Howrah) and Gurudev Express (Nagercoil – Shalimar) while some other linked to Netaji Subhash Bose like Netaji Express (Howrah – Kalka) and Azad Hind Express (Pune – Howrah).
Some of the stations include Cuttack (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth place), Puri (Chakhi Khuntia and Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das), Sambalpur (Veer Surendra Sai), Dhenkanal( Baji Rout).
During the event, freedom fighters and their families were also present.
