In a bid to give thrust to the indigenous manufacture of set top boxes (STB) while continuing the digitization process of domestic televisions, the Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar is to hold meeting with the entrepreneurs besides consulting Finance and Commerce Ministries in this regard after the Parliament session.
“I am keen to explore the possibility of having locally-manufactured set- top boxes before going ahead with the third and fourth phase of digitization rather than depending on imports,” said the Minister on Monday.
He said there is a massive requirement of 11crore set top boxes in the country. Hence its indigenization process this will generate employment opportunities in the country besides loss of foreign exchange in procuring them from countries as China, Taiwan and Korea.
Most importantly, these imported set top boxes are rendered useless after they become dysfunctional. There are no service centers available for their repair, said the minister.
The Minister was, however, not emphatic on the extension/implementation period of the two phases of digitization. Cable TV networks in the country had been mandated to go digital by December 2014, which entails that TV signals may be received only through STBs.