he new millennium started on a worrying note for colour - black and white was just a hazy memory by now for many - television set makers in India. The growth curve had slowed from the hoary days of the late 1990s. However, many new TV companies had burst onto the local market. LG, Samsung, Sansui and Sony had joined BPL, Onida and Videocon (which took over Thomson's R&D; facilities recently) to present the consumer with more choice.

In 2001, the density of colour televisions in India was 146 per 1000 households. Things started changing suddenly from 2003-04 when demand for colour TVs took off. The high point came in October 2003 when sales of colour TVs crossed 1 million in a single month. Production touched nearly 9 million units in 2003-04. By 2004-05, propelled by better technology and reduced prices, density of colour TVs (20-21 in) had gone up to 213 per 1000 households. Innovations were the order of the day.... more