Swachh Toycathon

The ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) has launched the Swachh Toycathon under the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav recently.

About Swachh Toycathon:

• The competition is a convergence between the National Action Plan for Toys (NAPT) and Swachh Bharat Mission phase two (SBM 2.0).
• It seeks to explore solutions for the use of waste in manufacturing toys.

• The competition will be open to individuals and groups to bring forth innovation in toy designs using dry waste.
• It will focus on efficient designs that can be replicated on a larger scale, toys that comply with minimum safety standards, as well as aesthetics of the toys.
• Center for Creative Learning, IIT Gandhinagar is the knowledge partner for the initiative.
• The competition will be hosted on MyGov’s Innovate India portal.

Status of Toy Market:

• Global toy market is worth nearly $100 billion.
• Of which, India contributes only around $1.5 billion.
• India imports around 80% of toys from abroad, which means crores of rupees of the country are going abroad on them.

Swachh Bharat Mission phase two (SBM 2.0).

• SBM-U 2.0, announced in Budget 2021-22, is the continuation of SBM-U first phase.
• The government is trying to tap safe containment, transportation, disposal of faecal sludge, and septage from toilets.
• It will be implemented over five years from 2021 to 2026 with an outlay of Rs.1.41 lakh crore.
• Objectives:
  • It focuses on source segregation of garbage, reduction in single-use plastic and air pollution, by effectively managing waste from construction and demolition activities and bioremediation of all legacy dump sites.
  • Under this mission, all wastewater will be treated properly before it is discharged into water bodies, and the government is trying to make maximum reuse a priority.