NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar has said the government has initiated efforts to promote greater production of indigenous set top boxes (STBs) so that Indian consumers stop using low-grade imported STBs as digitisation grows in the country.

The Minister said that he had called a meeting of manufacturers in mid-August and was surprised to learn that good quality Indian STBs were not only being made but were being exported.

He therefore wondered why multi-system operators and local cable operators only installed imported STBs for which there was no arrangement for servicing.

Javadekar said that he expected another 120 million homes to be covered by digital addressable system (DAS) by the end of 2016 and he would prefer that they all install Indian STBs.

He said that DAS will not only bring better quality television but also value added services.

He regretted that the process of digitisation appeared to have slowed down in the last 15 months but said the new government will take quick action to overcome the delays.

The Government has already announced that Phase III of digitisation will be completed by December 2015 and the final phase by December 2016