No extension of deadline in 2nd phase of digitization:Tewari

Ruling out extension of deadline in the second phase of digitisation, Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari today said the government planned to implement the transition from analogue to digital cable in a sensitive manner.
"In the second phase in the 38 cities....We are not going to relax the deadline but at the same time we are being sensitive. It is not that we are switching off everybody's television set. We've told the Multi System Operators to be sensitive since we are implementing a very large remit," Tewari said here.
"And to do it in a manner which gives people, who have not had the opportunity may be because of paucity of Set Top Boxes, or because they were recalcitrant or indolent to come up the learning curve," he added.

The deadline for the second phase of digitisation had passed on April 1 but 25 percent of the selected households had not installed Set Top Boxes (STBs) as per the ministry's estimates.