In its pre-budget recommendations for the Union Budget 2001-2002, Cetma has elaborated that the reason for the decline in growth by more than 50 per cent in the organised B&W television production, is due to a de-growth in B&W television industry and increase in the grey market production of B&W television sets.

It has said that central value added tax of 16 per cent on B&W TV components combined with a sales tax at 12 per cent has made it lucrative for the grey market to boom.

Cetma has also proposed for a reduction in excise duty on specific B&W components (such as CRT, Turner, Deflection) from 16 per cent to zero per cent. Cetma is also pushing to bring down the customs duty on colour picture tubes from 35 per cent to 15 per cent.

It has proposed a reduction in differential in customs duty from 25 per cent to 10 per cent on printed circuit boards and from 25 per cent to 15 per cent on copper clad laminates.

"Cetma's plea to reverse the customs duty level to maintain about 10 per cent differential in favour of indigenous production of PCB went unheard. Due to which, the indigenous PCB production fell to a critical and un-sustainable level. Cetma again pleaded for reversal of the duty levels during 2000-01 budget proposals. In fact, 2000-01 budget brought down the customs duty on copper clad laminate to 15 per cent but retained that of PCB at the same level of 15 per cent," it has said in the pre-budget memorandum. Cetma has asked for abatement levels on excise on MRP for CTVs to be brought on par with other items at 40 per cent from 20 per cent.

Cetma has stressed that the CTV industry should not be penalised for posting growth continuously for the past five years.

In 1985, consumption of CTV in China was twice that of India. In 2000, the same has jumped up 4.5 times that of India. "Colour picture tubes has been singled out for maximum protection in all the budgets. Even tubes of size 25 inch and above have not been spared. Also, no other component of CTV or other consumer goods is subject to this type of over protection policy," Cetma pointed out.

"It is only the television industry which can realistically convert the vision of the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee into reality - "to shrink the divide in Indian society between the IT haves and have-nots". It is only the television industry which can realistically convert the vision the Prime Minister's into reality, as television with set top boxes can perform this function in rural areas considering that it has penetrated the rural areas in a big way," Cetma said.