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Tag: Make In India

  • MIB secretary Apurva Chandra visits Tata Play’s technology centre

    MIB secretary Apurva Chandra visits Tata Play’s technology centre

    Mumbai: Ministry Information & Broadcasting (MIB ) secretary Apurva Chandra has visited Tata Play’s technology center in New Delhi to explore how Tata Play is leveraging technology and providing benefits to the end consumers.

    While exploring various ideas about technology that can benefit the customers, Chandra spent a considerable time understanding the complexities of a content distribution platform and steps Tata Play is taking to boost Make in India efforts for manufacturing set-top-boxes.

    During his visit, the Tata Play team demonstrated to Chandra the complete satellite communication and direct-to-home (DTH) delivery workflow and discussed other topics of mutual interest.

    Last year, Tata Play launched the first batch of Make-in-India set-top boxes in association with Technicolor Home and Flextronics. Earlier, Tata Play’s managing director & CEO Harit Nagpal had said that the India made set-top boxes would help generate employment and serve Indian consumers better.

    Tata Play has invested in advanced digital infrastructure and partnered with global leaders to provide superior technology. The company has a pan-India footprint of 23 million connections.

  • Aiwa India partners with Dixon to manufacture smart TV range ‘Magnifiq’

    Aiwa India partners with Dixon to manufacture smart TV range ‘Magnifiq’

    Mumbai: The premium Japanese consumer electronics brand, Aiwa has launched its most awaited range of TV series, Magnifiq in India. For the best-in-class Magnifiq series, the company has partnered with Dixon Technologies as its manufacturing partner and looks forward to contributing to the government’s Make In India initiative.

    The television series offers category leading features that give magnificent vision, magnificent sound, and a magnificent experience. 

    With this latest addition, Aiwa is strengthening its commitment and global vision of providing ‘more for less’ to its consumers by giving exceptional quality products at a  competitive price. Powered by android 11 & AI core 4 processor, the series caters to a discerning audience that looks for new range-topping products. The range extends from the fully loaded 32” series to 43” (FHD & UHD), 50 (4K UHD), 55” (4K UHD) & 65” (4K UHD), and is priced (MRPs) from Rs.29,990 to Rs 1,39,990.

    Also, the 55” and 65” models of the range come with a built-in soundbar for enhanced audio which gives users the best-in-class experience. The soundbar has been designed with Aiwa authentic signature sound technology to give users the most optimal audio preference. The television’s sound output is among the highest for products in the same segment.

    The high-performance Magnifiq range of premium televisions is powered by android 11 with built-in Google assistant. With the certified android TVs, the user’s favourite content is always front and centre for quick and easy access.

    With the company’s proprietary CRYSTA Tech Vision in this Magnifiq series, Aiwa is introducing a new standard in picture quality with vertical array display, AI quad-core processor, 1.07 billion colours and 350 nits* of brightness. When the life-like picture quality is paired with Aiwa’s amphitheater view technology, it delivers a truly spectacular audio-visual experience. 

    Aiwa TVs also come with the protective film with black reflect technology, which is designed especially to protect users from potentially harmful radiation. The anti-glare tech used, reduces reflections on the screen and helps to ease eye fatigue. Additionally, the company’s MEMC (motion estimation, motion compensation) ensures that images remain crisp and sharp during fast motion frames.

    Speaking about the launch and the Magnifiq TV series, Aiwa Electronics International managing director Kure Shouichi ci said, “We are excited about the establishment of Aiwa India, as our regional headquarter, via which we hope to assure Aiwa’s permanency to the Indian consumers. At the launch of our word-class televisions, we are sure the consumer will feel confident to see Aiwa’s legacy of excellence over the past 70 years coupled with the latest and most powerful Android 11 technology”

    Aiwa India managing director Ajay Mehta added, “After we brought Aiwa’s range of luxury speakers to the Indian consumer, the Magnifiq series of TV’s, come with exceptional quality standards that Aiwa is known for over the past 70 years. Our TVs are best suited for consumers who research products pre-purchase in detail and will not compromise on quality, technology, and features at the best possible value.”

    “We are committed to making exceptional products and bringing them to the Indian consumers. We are also proud to have contributed to the Make in India initiative through this project. TVs are poised to be the biggest category by value for Aiwa India and will be followed by the launch of many other product categories. This is tangible and a big step towards our goal of a one billion dollar top line for India,” he added further.

  • Tata Sky unveils its first batch of Make-in-India set-top boxes

    Tata Sky unveils its first batch of Make-in-India set-top boxes

    New Delhi: DTH operator Tata Sky on Thursday unveiled its first batch of Made in India- set-top boxes which have been manufactured in partnership with Technicolor Connected Home and Flextronics.

    Talking about this landmark milestone, Tata Sky’s MD & CEO, Harit Nagpal said, “The India-made set-top boxes will help generate employment while reducing lead time. The boxes have been tested and re-tested beyond the factory floor for quality assurance, and we hope this endeavor will help us to serve the Indian consumers even better.”

    According to the DTH operator, the project builds further on the long-standing partnership between Tata Sky and Technicolor Connected Home, which provides set-top boxes and broadband access solutions for network service providers (NSPs) around the world. The mass production of the set-top boxes developed for Tata Sky by Technicolor Connected Home started in Chennai, in partnership with Flextronics in June 2021.

    Technicolor Connected Home, president, Luis Martinez-Amago said the announcement marks the accomplishment of objectives outlined in August of 2020, in which Tata Sky and Technicolor Connected Home committed to shifting the production and distribution of STBs – including Android TV-based Binge+ set-top box – within India.

    “This is another step in Technicolor Connected Home’s continuing investment in the growth of the important Indian market. The disruptions brought about by COVID-19 have illustrated the importance of having manufacturing and distribution operations that are as close to the subscriber base as possible. We remain committed to minimise risks and total cost of ownership of STB deployments,” he added.

  • Make in India push for set-top boxes face challenges

    Make in India push for set-top boxes face challenges

    KOLKATA: Last year it made headlines when large DTH players including Tata Sky, Dish TV announced their decision to move manufacturing of a significant portion of set-top boxes (STBs) in India. The announcements were in line with the government’s renewed push for Make in India. But with complexities looming over the initiative, manufacturers remained worried about the impact of the initiative, if it remained limited to just ‘assembling the products in India’.

    There have been talks around different aspects of the Make in India push for STBs since the last two years. “In 2020, the department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) formed a committee. It asked the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) to be a part of it and a meeting was held with operators and STB manufacturers to gauge the overall situation,” said MyBox Technologies MD and CEO Amit Kharbanda. “STB as an electronic product falls under the purview of the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY)Meity, but buyers are regulated by MIB, an ‘unusual situation’.”

    According to MIB, Make in India is not just about assembling the product in India but also about promoting Indian designs.

    “Our entire HITS business was premised on furthering the mission of ‘Digital India’ – taking signals to remote semi-rural and rural areas across our pan-India satellite footprint; facilitating a digital transition. As regards local sourcing, our Cable Operator Premise Equipment or COPEs bear testimony to our ‘Make In India’ approach; with a significant percentage of locally sourced components. With Set-Top Boxes, we have already moved whatever inventory production was possible, to India. This includes not just India-based manufacturers but also Indian companies. But, the challenge is that several components of the STBs still need to be procured from overseas manufacturers,” said NXTDigital MD & CEO Vynsley Fernandes.

    The draft National Broadcasting Policy (NBP) finalised early this year also focused on policies to indigenise the production of consumer premises equipment including the set-top boxes, which are heavily import-dependent. This will be done by setting up a self-reliant local manufacturing ecosystem and roping in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and other agencies to publish the quality benchmark. The policy also called for setting up measures to rationalise the import tariffs and provide preference to domestically manufactured electronic products and mandate increasing deployment of indigenous equipment.

    GTPL Hathway cable TV head and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj said, “MIB has been promoting the initiative for the last two-three years, focusing on Indian manufacturers. But, the problem is many components like chipsets still come from a foreign country and are being assembled here. However, the MSO is also buying boxes from Indian vendors.”

    While domestic manufactures are trying to make way for Indian designing, it takes more than a year to develop designing. “Indian design companies have competence but the business is not in good shape, so the domestic manufacturers are requesting the operators to cooperate with them. The operators can be worried about the quality of boxes but they can opt for trial orders,” said MyBox Technologies MD and CEO Amit Kharbanda.

    On the other hand, some operators have distanced themselves from the matter.

    “We support the Make in India initiative. But, we have also clarified that it applies to any product manufactured in India by an entity here, whether it’s an Indian company or a foreign one. As a service provider, I can’t go checking on the antecedents of the company and whether it has ‘designed’ or ‘assembled’ in India, or whether there was a technology transfer or indigenous technology used. It is very complicated for us. We are buying from a company registered in India, paying Indian taxes, not importing. As long as we are doing that, we believe we are buying from India. Now it is up to the government to find out this nitty-gritty and it wants to take a policy initiative,” a senior executive with a large MSO said on conditions of anonymity.

  • Suzuki Motorcycle India appoints Satoshi Uchida as company Head

    Suzuki Motorcycle India appoints Satoshi Uchida as company Head

    New Delhi: Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (SMIPL) appointed Satoshi Uchida as its new company head as part of a global revamp by the parent Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC).

    Uchida has succeeded Koichiro Hirao with effect from 1 May. He carries three decades of experience across various global markets. In his last role, he was assigned to the US and returned to India, where he had worked previously in the company as well as served as deputy executive general manager- Motorcycle Operations (India/Middle-East/Africa) at SMC, Japan in the past.

    In his new role, Uchida will be responsible for exploring new avenues for growth and further strengthen Suzuki Motorcycle India’s position in the Indian market, the company said in a statement.

    “I am delighted to join Suzuki Motorcycle India again after a gap of just two years of my earlier assignment here in India. This company has always been very close to my heart. For us at Suzuki, it offers immense growth opportunities and it will be my endeavour once again to further consolidate our base here in India,” said Uchida, highlighting that India is one of the largest manufacturers of two-wheelers in the world and the company would strengthen its commitment to the Make in India program.

  • Faber-Castell art business grows by 300% y-o-y during Covid2019

    Faber-Castell art business grows by 300% y-o-y during Covid2019

    NEW DELHI: Faber-Castell is a name most children grow up with. As one of the leading manufacturers of wood-cased pencils with a varied range of products for writing, drawing, and creative design, as well as decorative cosmetics, it also found Covid2019 challenges and is now changing its strategy.

    Faber-Castell marketing director Sonali Shah says, “When the country was in complete lockdown, schools were shut, stores were shut, we were completely shut. But we saw a lot of latent demand coming from e-commerce. And when stores started opening, we saw that a lot of people started putting their attention towards DIY (do it yourself) products and art which helped us gain demand for our products.”

    Self isolation, work from home and study from home options led to a growth in demand for art and other stationery supplies. Faber-Castell tied up with Swiggy Genie to make stationery available at the doorstep for its consumers. 

    “Demand for products including highlighters, text liners, which are generally used for office purposes, now because of digitisation, people actually want to do hands-on things. Our art business has grown by 300 per cent over last year and we have recently launched our liquid paint. Art is divided into dry medium and liquid medium. Dry medium products include crayons and coloured pencils and liquid medium is acrylic paints, fabric paints, poster colours and watercolour. Our liquid paint business has grown by 84 per cent,” she shares.

    Faber-Castell had restrained from any overt advertising during the pandemic. “I thought it's quite insensitive for us to do it. But what we continue doing is putting up tutorials on different techniques that people can use to do art and crafts and DIY techniques and how they can spend their time at home. So, that was something that we had done during the lockdown. Now that things are opening up, we will probably look at launching eco-friendly products, make in India products because that’s the need of the hour. So, we are launching our paper pencil and eco pencil. For now, we have taken a conscious call to not do any overt advertising as such, but we will try and put as much content out there to help people get through this tough time,” she shares.

    With the thrust being given to Make in India products and eco-friendly items, Faber-Castell will refocus its attention and fast-track its product developments to meet the demand.

  • STB import duty doubled to 20%

    STB import duty doubled to 20%

    NEW DELHI: In a fresh bid to boost domestic production under the Make in India project, the Indian government has increased the import duty on set-top boxes (STBs) to 20 per cent, including a host of other electronic items such as TVs sets and smartphones.

    The duty hike from 10 per cent could impact the ongoing digitisation of TV services in India. Experts and stakeholders in the country’s broadcast and cable industry are still assessing the directive, including the fact whether the move is aimed at arresting imports from China.

    A ministry of finance notification dated 14 December 2017 stated the federal government was “satisfied” that the import duty on certain goods, including electronics, should be increased as “circumstances exist” that render it “necessary to take immediate action”.

    Though officially over, India’s digitisation of TV services is still a work in progress with many big MSOs admitting in private that the last and fourth phase is still far from over.

    A cable industry source highlighted that India’s DTH operators annually import about 10 million STBs, while an additional 20 million boxes approximately would still be needed to fully cover areas falling under phase IV of digitisation.

    While many India companies, including big companies like the Hero group, are manufacturing and/or assembling STBs in India, the supply, according to industry sources, isn’t enough to meet the demand. It is also expected that whenever the next round of survey is undertaken, the total number of TV homes in India would increase much beyond the figure of 183 million (as indicated by BARC India).

    Will this increase in import duty also up the cost of STBs for consumers via a mixed business model of rentals and outright purchase of the product? It’s still not clear.

    An industry source, however, said whether this government move would give a fillip to domestic manufacturing is not yet known. Most Indian DTH operators have already started importing STBs from countries like Thailand and Vietnam to take advantage of an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) trade pact, which is aimed at lowering trade barriers and help economic growth in general.

    STBs can be now imported by Indian companies from ASEAN countries at very low tax rate that is in the range of 2-3 per cent, the source elaborated.

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  • Ambani advocates ‘Keep in India’ agenda for PM

    NEW DELHI: Industrialist and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, has made a strong pitch for “Keep In India” – an addition to the to-do list of the Modi government after Make in India, and Digital India

    Speaking at the India Today conclave in Mumbai over the weekend, Ambani spelt out a vision for how technology can provide solutions to the most challenging problems that India is facing –from education, financial inclusion, healthcare to job creation and entrepreneurship.

    But, he said, there was need to protect Indian data as India emerges as one of the leaders in steering the fourth industrial revolution. “As we enter the digital age, we must remember data and information is power. If the benefits of the Indian technology revolution are to be fully captured –we need to ensure that data remains in India…like Digital India, Make in India, we need Keep in India initiative to ensure data remains within India.”

    He said: “We cannot be arrogant about technology, it has to always serve the common man and we have to learn from the common man.” Apart from connecting 99 per cent Indians digitally, Ambani will be focusing on the education sector, along with his wife Nita Ambani in 2017.

    In his wish list for the prime minister Narendra Modi, Ambani said the challenge is now for execution. He said that India’s lack of existing physical, digital infrastructure is a boon. It takes away the burden of replacing or upgrading existing technology. The most challenging problems facing humanity in India will be solved using technology.

    He felt that India could be a leader in the fourth industrial revolution but the time was now to seize the opportunity to make India a prosperous nation.

    The real impoverishment he said is the denial of opportunity. “We should not allow any Indian to suffer from that poverty.”

  • India ready for data revolution with 350 million plus Net users: Minister

    India ready for data revolution with 350 million plus Net users: Minister

    NEW DELHI: India’s Telecoms minister Manoj Sinha has said the sector had been growing at a phenomenal pace and was considered as the fastest growing telecom market in the world with the second largest subscriber base with more than 1060 million connectivity, 160 million broadband connections and 350 million plus internet users.

    India is ready for another digital and data revolution, the minister said while inaugurating the 8th Telecom Export Promotion Council’s Buyer-Seller meet earlier this week here.

    (India’s mobile phone revolution has been spurring many media players, global and domestic, to enter the OTT space despite challenges. It is also expected that, with the introduction of 4G technology, the market for streaming video will grow in India.)

    Sinha said the rapid growth of the telecoms sector has fuelled the demand for telecom equipment, including mobile phones, which was worth about $ 20 billion in 2015-16 and is estimated to exceed $ 30 billion by 2020.

    Sinha added that India has all the ingredients of a globally competitive telecom industry like a large domestic market, world class talent, focus on R&D and IPR creation, beside a robust framework for electronic manufacturing, including set-top boxes used in a variety of telecoms and broadcast services.

    According to the Minister, Indian manufacturers have already made significant strides in exports of IT and telecom products to several countries and established that Indian IT and telecom products are of world-class quality and globally competitive on technology and price.

    The massive thrust on ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives offers a large opportunity for creation of innovative products and services and India is poised for another digital and data revolution.

    Sinha told the representatives from 28 participating countries from South Asia, South-East Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa that India holds the distinction of being the fastest growing telecom network, especially with advent of increased broadband penetration.

    Meanwhile, joining issue with his colleague, Electronics and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that, during the last fiscal ending March 2016, the sector recorded an export of $ 108 billion, which is around 45 per cent of services export from India. The sector gave direct employment to 3.7 million people and around 200,000 additional employment was created in just the past year.

    Prasad said the prime minister Narendra Modi’s government was determined to create a knowledge-based society to “improve effeciency and reach of the services.”

    He said unlike industrial revolution (that India missed), the country was all set to take lead in the ongoing digital revolution.