SYLLABU SECTION: GS III (INFRASTRUCTURE)
WHY IN THE NEWS?
Bureau of Indian Standards, the national standards body of India has published 10 Indian Standards on safety aspects of Toys,
Related to physical safety, safety against chemicals, flammability, electrical safety etc. These standards prevent the use of unsafe and toxic materials in manufacturing of toys.
KEY DETAILS:
- A total of 10 Indian Standards have been publish, out of which 7 are the part of Quality Control Order (QCO) on ‘Safety of Toys
- Quality Control Order makes it mandatory that toys for children under 14 years of age conform to 7 Indian Standards (List attached) for Safety of Toys,
- And bear a Standard Mark (ISI Mark) under license from BIS. This Government guideline came into force from 1st Jan 2021.
- BIS grants licenses to toy manufacturing units base on an assessment of their manufacturing and testing capability through factory visit as well as testing of toys in a BIS Lab or BIS Recognize Lab as per the Indian Standards.
- No person is permit to manufacture, import sell or distribute, store, hire, lease or exhibit for sale toys which do not conform to the Indian Standard and do not bear BIS Standard Mark i.e. “ISI Mark” under a license from BIS.
- Before license is grant, toys undergo stringent tests for various physical, chemical and electrical safety requirements to ensure that they are safe for children.
About Indian Toy Industry
- Estimate to be $1.5 bn making up 0.5% of global market share.
- Manufacturing is mostly locates in NCR, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and clusters across central Indian states.
- The sector is fragmented with 90% of the market being unorganized.
Read more: UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS
SOURCE: PIB