TRAI Encourages Broadcast Equipment Manufacturing - News

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued recommendations on 'Promoting Local Manufacturing in the Television Broadcasting Sector', focusing on convergence-era technologies and tenets to build a broadcast equipment ecosystem. Establishing or upgrading Telecom Centres of Excellence to focus on broadcast apparatus is suggested. The TRAI further indicates letting the Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC) or a similar group promote and facilitate the export of locally made broadcast equipment. It was recommended that the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) of the Department of Telecommunications test and standardize all broadcast equipment.
The recommendations also suggest establishing a 'Technology Development Fund' to promote R&D and development of local broadcasting products/technologies, reviewing FTAs and agreements for their impact on local television broadcasting manufacturing, and regularly reviewing the availability of indigenous components for broadcasting equipment.
It also stated that the investment required to receive PLI benefits would be reviewed to promote MSME manufacturing of selected equipment as identified from time to time. TRAI expects these steps to help the Indian broadcasting equipment manufacturing sector transition from import-dependent to a global hub of indigenous manufacturing.