NEW DELHI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry will pursue with the Finance Ministry issues relating to greater inflow of foreign direct investment, incentives to the cable TV industry, and concessions like customs exemption for set top boxes as part of its attempt to push digitisation by December 2014.

I&B Secretary Uday Kumar Varma said the government was also concerned about the shortage of digital STBs and was examining ways to increase indigenous production if the sunset dates had to be met.

He reiterated that the Government stood committed to phasing out analogue by December 2014 from the entire country as this would help the cable and broadcasting industry and also the viewer.
 
Addressing a meet of CEOs of Broadcasting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said the government was working towards a programme for capacity building for the cable operators and would introduce orientation programmes for this.

At the same time, the Government asked to the industry to come forward with ways to create public awareness about the benefits of digitisation. He said the industry and the Government would have to work together on this.

He said he failed to understand why the industry was not coming forward to discuss the spectrum issues with the government.

Varma said the whole aim should be to visualise how the industry wanted to see the TV industry 10 years from now.

He said no policy could be carried forward by the government without taking the industry with it, and therefore it was important that the two should work together.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman JS Sarma referred to the plans of the regulator to increase the reach of broadband. He also said Trai would open regional offices in different parts of the country to help the broadcast and telecom industries. He said the regulator had been working in close coordination with the government on digitisation.

CII Media and Entertainment Committee chairman Amit Khanna referred to meetings held with Sarma and said this process would continue. He said that the CII and the entertainment industry would also meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee early next month in connection with its wish list for the entertainment sector.

He also announced that the PriceWaterhouse Coopers was preparing a vision document on the radio industry in the country.

He said the CII would be organising a one-day meet on content in cinema and TV in Mumbai in March.

The meet was attended by the heads of various television channels, apart from members of civil rights groups and research bodies.