MUMBAI: Computer peripherals manufacturer TVS Electronics Limited (TVS-E) launched the first Indian made set top box (STB) today, which have been manufactured at its newly commissioned automated high volume manufacturing line in Chennai. TVS-E has also signed an agreement with Zee Network's Siti Cable as its first customer in India for this.

Commenting on the same, TVS-E director Gopal Srinivasan said, "We've taken a bold step in being the first Indian company in this business. This will help the company become a strategic player in the fast emerging digital home market in the near future. With Zee Network as our customer, we're very confident of scaling up to 20,000 STBs per month by December 2004."

Backed by a team of design and manufacturing engineers, the state of the art facility has been commissioned by TVS-E with an investment of Rs 40 million, and has a capacity to produce 50,000 STBs per month.

Commenting on the tie-up with TVS-E, Zee Network vice chairman Jawahar Goel said, "In TVS-E we found an ideal Indian company which has design and manufacturing capabilities to locally produce STB's. TVS-E's excellent track record in maintaining high quality standards offers us a unique advantage over imports. We have been importing and selling 15,000 STB units per month and intend switching over to locally manufactured STB's by the end of September."

TVS- E expects to sell about 75,000 boxes in the next five months of this year, at revenue of Rs 200 million. However with an inverted tariff structure of 20 per cent import duty and 0 per cent export duty for full import as against full import duty and 16 per cent export duty on parts import, is a deterrent for local manufacturing. If these issues are sorted out, TVS-E expects a steep increase in local manufacturing, informed an official release.

TVS-E plans to continue to invest in this area with an aim to eventually offer cable, satellite and broadband STB's in the future.