HYDERABAD: The State government will soon form a committee for the welfare of street vendors, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao announced on Monday after launching 2021-22 annual report on the State industries. During the event, one of the industrialists suggested that the State government should focus on the welfare of ‘street-preneurs’ as well. The industrialist suggested that the government should allot spaces to the street vendors so that they did not face any harassment from the police and civic body officials. “Supporting the street vendors is a part of inclusive growth,” the industrialist said.
In his response, the Minister said: “We will certainly take this suggestion in the right spirit. We will form a body of industry representatives and ensure that small-scale entrepreneurs are taken care of. We will also work with the industry in this regard. There can be no bigger satisfaction for any government that working to better the lives of the smallest entrepreneurs,” Rama Rao said. He also asked Principal Secretary of industries department Jayesh Ranjan to form a panel for the welfare of the vendors.
Toy park
The annual report released of Monday mentioned that the State government would set up of a toy park soon. “To end India’s dependency on Chinese toys, Telangana government is developing ‘Telangana Toy Park’ on 100 acres at Dandumalkapur in Choutuppal mandal of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. The park would reduce the cost of manufacturing of good-quality Indian toys,” stated the report.
The authorities are also planning to set up a toy museum, CFC, children’s amusement park etc. The toy park will promote manufacture of soft toys, electronic, plastic and silicon toys and also provide an opportunity for regional artisans producing wooden toys. It is estimated that India’s toy industry will be worth `147 to 221 billion by the year 2024. In comparison to the global annual rise in demand for toys, which is 5 per cent, India’s demand is rising by 10 to 15 per cent. The toy business is worth `12,000 crore in India and majority of the supply comes from China due to the cheaper prices.
I’ve miles to go, says KTR
When all the speakers praised him during the event here on Monday, Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said in a lighter vein that he was not going to retire.“When everyone began showering praise, I was a bit worried. Typically, they do it only when you are retiring. I am very confident that people will recognise good work. So, I am not going to retire anytime soon. You can be rest assured that I am going to be around for a while,” he said.