While celebrating the graduation of 15 engineers trained under its programme, MeitY launched the Electronic Toy Hackathon to innovate and build India’s future electronic toy industry.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) announced the launch of the ‘Electronic Toy Hackathon’ (e-Toycathon) during the convocation ceremony of the first batch of 15 young engineers trained under MeitY’s ‘Development of Electronics and IT-based Control and Automation Solutions for Consumer Electronic Goods (Toy Industry)’ project.
This initiative aims to foster the growth of India’s indigenous toy industry by equipping engineers with the skills to design electronic, automated toys using advanced technologies.
The event celebrated the completion of a one-year training programme for young engineers. The training, a collaboration between MeitY, C-DAC, the Indian Toy Industries, and the LEGO Group, involved hands-on experience in designing electronic toys.
The engineers were selected from SC/ST and Northeastern Region (NER) communities and spent six months in C-DAC Noida developing prototypes. They then received industry-based training to create toys that met market needs. Throughout the year, the participants received a monthly stipend of Rs 25,000.
The programme also provided global exposure, with the LEGO Group joining as a knowledge partner. From October 2023 to March 2024, Sam Coates, Head of Innovation at LEGO’s Creative Play Lab, conducted webinars to guide the engineers on toy development, industry standards, and feedback on their prototypes.
At the ceremony, S. Krishnan, Secretary of MeitY, highlighted the growing demand for electronic toys in India and the importance of leveraging electronics and IT to build a thriving toy industry ecosystem.
Announcing the e-Toycathon he further commented, “This programme can be formalized in a bigger way to cater more students and more impact in overall promotion of the Toy industries. We could setup a CoE with the help of STPI/MSH and other institutes with electronic toys in focus. It will help in creating entrepreneurship/startups. I wish the graduating students all the very best for their future.”
In addition, Sanjay Mehndiratta, MD of Toys Zone, presented appointment letters to ten graduating students.
Notable figures attended the event, including Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary at MeitY, Vivek Khaneja, Executive Director of C-DAC Noida, and Manu Gupta, Chairman of the Toys Association of India.
