The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has formulated proposals to boost investor confidence in the broadcast industry. These proposals include reduction of taxes for digital headsets, set top boxes and income tax holidays. Inaugurating the three-day International Conference and Exhibition on Terrestrial & Satellite broadcasting in New Delhi today, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Jagathrakshakan said the good news was expected to be announced soon.

He said digitalisation was expected to bring in major gains to all stake holders, including better viewing experience, choice of channels and quality of value added services.

The Minister said the road map laid down by the I&B ministry would enable the industry to mobilise the financial resources and the size of the Indian market would bring down the cost of digitalisation and make set top boxes affordable. He said healthy compensation was also expected between various digital platforms to the advantage of the consumer in terms of affordable pricing, quality and diversity of choice.

Speaking on the occasion, information and Broadcasting Secretary Uday Kumar Varma said the FM radio auction would be held by the end of this year with absolute transparency as the 3G auction.

He urged broadcast engineers to come forward to help the government to communicate the advantages of digitalisation to the people. He called on them to meet the challenges faced by the industry and to bridge the digital divide in the country.

The three-day international conference being organised by the Broadcast Engineering Society is being attended by around thousand delegates, including 22 foreign delegations and over hundred broadcast equipment manufactures showcasing the latest in broadcast technology.