The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry has informed Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology that the government is working on a plan to provide long-term financing for Indian set top box (STB) manufacturers in order to fasten digitisation of cable televisions.
The government wants to support the Indian STB manufacturers to counter the availability of China made STBs which are easily available in the market. The government wants to ensure that local manufacturers should be encouraged in the country.
While informing the Committee that just around 19 manufacturers were making indigenous STBs, the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) said it can scale up the capacity if there is a demand but for that there is need of government support in creating a level playing field for domestic STB manufacturers to compete with the Chinese imported STBs.
The ministry has further said that it had declared STBs as part of the telecommunications network equipment and reduction of value added tax on domestically manufactured STBs. An indigenous Conditional Access System (CAS) had been developed which will give further impetus to the domestic STB manufacturers to produce and supply the indigenously manufactured STBs.
But cheaper Chinese STBs have always been an issue for the government and the long-term financing move comes from this concern of the government.
By Atanu Kumar Das
