No monopoly in cable biz; will ensure level-playing field for

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today assured diversified Hinduja Group that his government would not allow any monopoly in the cable business in the state and will provide a level-playing field for all.
The assurance came at a meeting steered by Amarinder with the top management of the Hinduja Group, led by its chairman Ashok P Hinduja, in Mumbai this evening, said an official statement here.
The chief minister, who was in Mumbai for the past two days to seek investor attention towards investments in Punjab, made it clear that his government would not, at any cost, allow anyone to browbeat cable operators opting for NXT Digital -- the HITS (Headend-in-The-Sky) digital services platform launched by the Hinduja two years ago.

HITS is a satellite-based digital cable distribution platform, in which pay TV signals are beamed to cable operators using satellite transponders. The operator then transmits the TV signals to households through cable as part of this technology, in contrast to the direct-to-home.
Amarinder, for whom this was the second meeting with Hinduja since taking over as the chief minister, assured him that Punjab would not allow its cable business to be monopolised, as had been done during the rule of the erstwhile SAD-BJP government.
All players in the field would be treated equally and provided the same facilities, infrastructural support and incentives to invest and grow in the state, he promised.

The chief minister urged the Hindujas to explore investment in Punjab in various areas, including electric vehicles.

The Congress government, he said, was keen to go in for clean and green transportation, of which electric vehicles were an important aspect.
Ashok Hinduja assured of all possible help on this through the Ashok Leyland company, owned by his group.
He appreciated Amarinder's efforts to promote industry in the state, saying Punjab had never marketed itself in such a way earlier and the industry felt encouraged to come to the state now to make the most of its transformed environment.
The chief minister was accompanied at the meeting by state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Chief Principal Secretary to CM Suresh Kumar, besides CEO-cum-Invest Punjab & Secretary Industries, Commerce & IT Rakesh Kumar Verma.