MUMBAI: The ripple effects of the Union Budget are now being felt.

DTH company Dishtv has announced a price hike of Rs 100 on its Set Top Box (STB) owing to the increase in customs duty on the import of STBs from nil to five per cent.

The price hike will be effective from 20 July, 2009 onward.

Dishtv COO Salil Kapoor said, "It was a necessary step due to increase in input cost as there has been an escalation in the cost of Set Top Boxes due to five per cent increase in customs duty on the import of STBs. The business model of DTH is based on subsidy and the component cost has also gone up considerably due to the rise in dollar exchange rate in the last one year."

"We have tried to minimize the effect on consumers by absorbing these rising input costs over the year, but the trend is on a constant rise and we have reached at a level where absorbing the entire cost internally seems to be a tough proposition. The increase in the cost still maintains Dishtv’s value for money proposition," he added.

Under the new price scheme, the bare STB, which were priced at Rs 1490, will now cost Rs 1,590. The combo offer for Rs 2,090 with three months platinum/south platinum will now be available for Rs 2,190.

Offers like the Ultimate sports bonanza of Rs 1790 with 3 months of South Silver subscription will now be available for Rs 1890 and that for Rs 2390 with 12 months of South Silver subscription will now be available for Rs 2490.