I&B Ministry Confident Of Meeting March 31 Deadline For Cable TV Digitization In 38 More Cities

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is confident of meeting the 31st March 2013 deadline of digitization in 38 cities across the country.  The second phase of digitization covers the one million plus cities across the country including Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad and Thane among others. The four metros – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai were part of the first phase of digitization. Speaking to media persons in Mumbai on 18 January, Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, Uday Kumar Varma said, the Ministry has been reviewing the progress on a continuous basis and Nodal officers have been appointed in every state to oversee the conversion process.

“It has been estimated that 16 million Set Top Boxes would be required to digitize the 38 cities, excluding the four metros. But a study conducted by the Ministry has revealed that already 6 million TV sets in these cities are already digitized” said Mr. Varma. He said the cities like Ludhiana and Amritsar are already 90 per cent digital. The level of digitization is high even in Bangalore and Hyderabad, he said.

Mr. Varma said with the government embarking upon a massive digital conversion drive, there is a huge demand for Set Top Boxes. He said, presently most of the Set Top Boxes are being imported, and the share of the domestic manufacturers is negligible, mainly on account of cost advantage. Mr. Varma explained that while the imported Set Top Boxes are offered as a service by the cable operator and are subjected to a lower rate of service tax, the domestic manufacturer’s STBs attract higher rate of VAT, as they are considered to be goods sold. He said, his Ministry has written to the Ministry of Finance to look into this anomaly and create a level playing field for the domestic manufacturers. Mr. Varma said, if the domestic manufacturer are able to price their products competitively, Ministry may even mandate a certain percentage of STBs to be procured domestically.

Secretary Uday Varma, expressed satisfaction over the implementation of the first phase of digitization. He said, the exercise was more or less completely successful in Mumbai and Delhi. He added, that even Kolkata, which initially had reservations about digital conversion, has come on board with a conversion rate nearing 90 per cent. About Chennai, he declined to comment, saying the matter is sub-judice.

Mr. Varma said the first phase of digitization was a learning experience and the government was working to refine the process.. He said, the feedback from the newly converted digital homes has been mostly favourable and added that the move is bringing in a more transparent cable TV regime in the country.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/1022-ib-ministry-confident-of-meeting-march-31-deadline-for-cable-tv-digitization-in-38-more-cities.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/1022-ib-ministry-confident-of-meeting-march-31-deadline-for-cable-tv-digitization-in-38-more-cities.html