Following successful digitisation of cable TV in three metros, the Centre has initiated the digitisation process for 38 more cities, including Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
The deadline for digitisation in these 38 cities across 15 states expiring on March 31, 2013. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Tuesday reviewed the preparedness. A workshop for the state officials has been planned in November.
The cable TV digitisation will also cover Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna, Indore, Bhopal, Thane, Ludhiana, Agra, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Vadodara, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Rajkot, Meerut, Kalyan-Dombivali, Varanasi, Amrtisar, Navi Mumbai, Aurangabad, Solapur, Allahabad, Jabalpur, Srinagar, Visakhapatnam, Ranchi, Howrah, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Mysore and Jodhpur.
Cable operators in these cities have been asked to make a thorough assessment of the number of set-top boxes required, taking into consideration credible data from the ground level and submit their plans for procurement of these boxes to ensure that the March 31 deadline is met.
A communication strategy is also being worked out to inform the viewers in these cities.
The countdown for phase II began after successful completion of digitisation in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
As on November 6, as many as 22.4 lakh set top boxes have been installed in Mumbai, 25.15 lakh in Delhi and 17.74 lakh in Kolkata.
There is a slight delay in Chennai as the matter is sub judice in the Madras High Court.
All other urban areas (municipal corporations/municipalities), except cities or towns or areas specified for phases I and II, will have to be digitised by September 30, 2014.
The rest of India will be covered by December 31, 2014.
