the honble prime minister sh narendra modi interacted with the finalists of toycathon 2021 through video conferencing on june 24 manav rachna was the only university among 6 institutions chosen as a nodal centre for the live interaction with pm modi in addition manav rachna has been selected as a nodal centre by aicte for hosting toycathon 2021 grand finale organised jointly by the ministry of education in coordination with five other ministries viz ministry of women child development ministry of information broadcasting ministry of commerce industry ministry of micro small and medium enterprises and ministry of textiles toycathon focuses on conceptualizing new and innovative toys using local materials which are economical affordable safe environment friendly with exceptional high quality for both indian and global markets the honble pm while addressing the participants said toys and games influence our mental power creativity and our economy all of us know that a childs first school is hisher family but the first book and first friends are toys the prime minister also appealed to the countrys youth about selfreliance and coming up with local solutions in the world of toys and digital gaming stating that india imports about 80 of its toys the prime minister said that this practice should change and the country should go vocal for local congratulationsyou have successfully cast your votelogin to view resulthe emphasized courage is the key to prosperity all the participants showcase indias bright future in toy manufacturing and this is how youngsters will strengthen our atma nirbhar bharat while interacting with ishmeet kaur the youngest participant in the interaction from the portals of manav rachna the honble pm expressed his appreciation for the project bagh chaal as a modern way of preserving the traditional games of india he said this effort and idea is highly laudable and shall inspire the countrys youth to connect with the countrys heritage in fun yet educative way also present during this interaction were dr mohit gambhir director of the innovation cell at ministry of education dr amit bhalla vice president manav rachna educational institutions dr sanjay srivastava vc mriirs dr i k bhat vc mru dr umesh dutta director mriic and other senior representatives over 12 lakh participants registered and submitted more than 17000 ideas for toycathon 2021 as a result 1567 ideas were shortlisted for 3 days online toycathon grand finale held from 22nd june to 24th june it is a matter of great pride that manav rachna was among the 6 institutions shortlisted as a nodal centre for a live interaction with the honorable pm during the toycathon 2021 of these six institutions manav rachna was the only universitydr mohit gambhir said indias domestic market as well as the global toy market offers a huge opportunity to our manufacturing sector toymaking is a 100 billion industry globally with china the usa germany and japan as the key players india imports 80 to 85 per cent of its annual 15billion toy market in comparison