Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to Lok Sabha informed that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) had granted 630 licenses to MSME toy manufacturers as on March 28.
“Out of the 661 licenses granted by BIS to domestic toy manufacturers, 630 license i.e. 95 per cent of licenses have been granted to MSME toy manufacturers,” he added.
Compulsory BIS certification
In a bid to crackdown on cheap toy imports and ensure safety, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, had issued Toys (Quality Control) Order (QCO), 2020. Under this, toys now come under compulsory BIS certification effective January 1, 2021.
Accordingly, it is mandatory for toys to conform to ‘Indian Standards for Safety of Toys’ and bear the Standard Mark (ISI Mark). No person can now manufacture, import, distribute, sell, hire, lease, store or exhibit for sale any toys without the ISI mark. Sellers, including retailers, are responsible for ensuring that only toys with the ISI Mark are purchased from the manufacturers holding a valid BIS license.
BIS certification is also mandatory for imported toys and foreign manufactures.
The Indian standards for toys focus on various safety aspects such as flammability, sharp edges and transfer of toxic elements etc, among others.