NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has said the cable television digitisation programme will proceed according to the schedule laid down by the Government.

Speaking to the media at Panaji in Goa, he said that the process had been started by his predecessor and he will ensure it is implemented according to the time frame laid down for the four phases, the first of which had already been implemented.

The government has mandated 31 December 2014 as the sunset date for analogue cable across the country. The first phase of digitisation in the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata kicked off on 1 November while Chennai got deferred till 5 November by the Madras High Court. The fate of digitisation in Chennai will be known today by the court.

Mumbai and Delhi have had a high degree of success in digitisation while the Mamata Baenerjee-led West Bengal government has allowed TV signals to run on analogue cable TV till Diwali festival gets over.

Tewari also said the Centre will work towards making the forthcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Goa a self sustainable event.