MUMBAI: Even as the government issued a notification on the basic tier in a post-conditional access systems (CAS) environment, media research and publishing company Media Partners Asia (MPA) today released an independent research report on the introduction of CAS in India.
The report provides an in-depth analysis of the current ground realities that will dictate CAS rollout and its impact on India’s media and entertainment economy. 
The key conclusions of the report are as follows:
*Successful CAS implementation could boost the entertainment economy long term
*Economic and logistical realities make CAS implementation a non-starter
*Mandatory CAS implementation will adversely impact consumer demand and weaken the fundamentals of India’s entertainment economy
*A test-bed CAS rollout in one city and a simultaneous push for alternative subscription-based television platforms will provide greater insurance for consumers, operators and broadcasters.
"Our research shows that CAS implementation, in its currently proposed form, will not achieve the government of India’s stated aims of driving affordability and choice for consumers and building an addressable cable TV industry," MPA executive director Vivek Couto says. 
"As a result, we recommend that the government of India should intervene to pursue its vision of a consumer-friendly addressable cable TV industry. This would involve focusing on a test-bed rollout of CAS in one city and a simultaneous push for alternative subscription-based TV platforms. Such an approach would protect consumer interests and contain damage to India’s media and entertainment economy."

Also read the detailed report:

MPA Research Paper 8 dated 8 May 2003 - Sunrise or Sundown - the impact of CAS on India's media and entertainment economy - a strategic analsysis