NEW DELHI: Prices of larger televisions, microwave ovens and set-top boxes are set to increase with the government making changes to customs duty in order to boost local manufacturing.The rise is expected to be significant for larger and hitech TVs — mainly 55-inch and above — as the government doubled the import duty on fully-built units to 20%.In line with its ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Union government also increased the duty on mobile phones from 10% to 15%.The move, while having a minimal impact on the broader smartphone market (as most devices are assembled locally), may impact prices of devices from Apple and some other manufacturers selling high-end smartphones. Samsung — the largest device maker in the country — will remain largely insulated from the customs duty hike announced on Friday as most of its phones are being manufactured in the country.“The duty hike will be beneficial for boosting manufacturing of feature phones, where a trend of higher imports was being noticed over the past few months,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, president of Indian Cellular Association. Manish Sharma, president of Consumer Electronics Association (CEAMA) also said that local manufacturing will get a boost from the measure.For Apple, which is trying to grow its engagement in India, the move may be a dampener as the company still imports most of the phones it sells in India. The company, which has begun a small assembly operation in Bangalore in partnership with Wistron of Taiwan, is seeking duty concessions on parts before looking at a full-fledged manufacturing operation in the country.Speaking about televisions, an industry representative told TOI, “A lot of companies – while manufacturing in India -- are still importing the panel which is used in the device. A duty of 7.5% on the panels will make the TVs expensive till the time companies start assembling them here. This could lead to a momentary increase in prices.”When contacted, a spokesperson for Sony India said, “We are evaluating the notification itself at the moment and are yet to determine its impact. It’s too early to comment.” The company has partly started local sourcing of TVs in India from a unit of Taiwanese contract maker Foxconn.A top official with a DTH operator said that a large part of set-top boxes being used by them and cable operators is currently being imported. “So, the doubling of duty in this category will see prices go up. However, it is beneficial in the long-term as it will boost local manufacturing and help us develop an eco-system of suppliers.”