PC sales in India rise 12 p.c, but outlook grim

NEW DELHI: Personal computer sales rose 12 per cent to 3.69 million (36.9 lakh) units in the first half this fiscal thanks to sustained demand from large and medium enterprises and households in small towns, Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT), the apex body representing an IT hardware industry, said today.

According to MAIT, the sales of desktops during April and September 2008 rose 12 per cent to 2.91 million units, while notebooks sales stood at 770,000 units, a growth of 13 per cent.

MAIT, however, gave a grim outlook for the remaining period of the financial year and said sales were unlikely to grow during the period.

Given the current macro-economic conditions and conservative buying sentiment in the market, PC sales are expected to remain at the same levels as in the last fiscal at 7.3 million (73 lakh) units, the lobby said in a press release.

“Consumption in the large and medium enterprises has helped the PC market. The sales to households and small enterprises were less than expected. The overall consumption in the PC market was led by telecom, banking, education, BPO/IT enabled services and e-governance initiatives,” said MAIT executive director Vinnie Mehta.

It also said the number of active Internet connections increased to 7.61 million in September 2008 as against 6.43 million a year ago. With this, the number of Internet users has exceeded 54 million in the country.

Urging the government to support the industry, MAIT president, S S Raman said: “IT should be made mandatory for nationalised and PSU banks to earmark funds for easy and subsidised loans for purchase of IT products and solutions for the SMEs and the home consumers, especially for education.”

Similarly, Central and State governments should extend interest-free loans to all their employees for purchase of IT products, he added.

Although the sales to the households and small enterprises were less than expected, the overall consumption in the PC market was led by telecom, banking, education, BPO/IT-enabled services, and the e-governance initiatives of the Union and the state governments, the MAIT statement added.