Shillong (PTI): With China taking a blow in its toy business following reports of lead content in the products, DoNER minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday said India, particularly the North Eastern states should capitalize on this and emerge as a big exporter of toys.

"Toy making is a $ 80 billion business now and China accounts for 55 per cent of it," he said adding India caters to just 0.01 percent of the trade and can emerge as a contender.

"The Ganesh Festival in Mumbai marked the commencement of the country's freedom movement and Bal Gangadhar Tilak mobilized it as a major political movement. But unfortunately the Ganesh idol now is being imported from China," Aiyar said inaugurating a toy production centre here.

The North East states are 'traditionally blessed' with asthetic sensibility, imagination and creative urge. "The toy business calls for creative faculties. It has enormous income generating and employment potential," the minister said.

While a number of such toy making centres have come up in Nagaland, Tripura and now in Meghalaya, he called for creation of rural business hubs in the region for 'enormous boom' in toy making'.

Toy production does not require machines nor training, he said adding the DoNER ministry and North East Council was committed to help in the development of the business by providing market facilities and other logistic support.