January 18th 2021

Cabinet Ministry launches Toycathon 2021 and Toycathon Portal.

The Cabinet Ministry launched Toycathon 2021 and Toycathon portal.
This is aimed to conceptualize innovative toys based on the Indian value system.
This will inculcate positive behavior and good value among children.
Toycathon is organized to develop India as the global toy manufacturing hub.
The Indian toy market at present is worth $1 billion with 80% of the toys being imported.
The launch of toycathon will create an ecosystem for the domestic toy industry and local manufacturers and utilizing their potential.
The National Education Policy 2020 lays emphasis on innovation and research in learning, starting from primary education.
The aim of Toycathon is to capture the innovative prowess of 33 crore students across the country.
The collaboration with the Ministry of Education on Toycathon will bring together students, faculties from schools, colleges, and universities to achieve Atmanirbhar Bharat.
This is the first time in the country where school children can innovate, design, and conceptualize toys especially for disabled children ‘divyang children’.
The students and faculty members who participate will receive prize money of up to 50 lakhs.

Toycathon is jointly launched by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of I&B, Ministry of Commerce and Industries and Ministry of MSME.
Toycathon is a special kind of hackathon where students, faculties, design experts and toy manufactures and startups will get together for developing toys and games that are based on Indian culture, ethos, heros and local folklore and Indian Value system.
This hackathon will help India expand into a global hub for toys and games.
It will also help children to understand the ethos and values of Indian culture as envisaged in National Education Policy 2020.
The Toycathon is based on Nine Themes namely
- Indian Culture
- History
- Knowledge of India and Ethos
- Learning, Education, and Schooling
- Social and human values
- Occupations and specific fields
- Environment
- Divyang
- Fitness and sport
- Out of box creative and logical thinking and
- Rediscovering or redesigning traditional Indian toys
There will be three variants of tracks for the students and teachers to participate in the toycathon will be junior level, senior level and startup level.
There will be two options for the participants to submit their ideas- they can submit ideas for the published problems or under the novel toy concept category.