India computer sales up 8.6 percent

By agencies   |   Wednesday, 07 September 2005, 19:30 IST
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BANGALORE: Computer sales in India reached 1.01 million during the April-June first quarter, rising 8.6 percent on year, the country's main hardware trade body said Tuesday. Sales for the fiscal year to March 2006 might exceed the initial target of 4.2 million units, said the Manufacturers' Association of Information Technology. "This buoyancy makes us hope we'll proudly overshoot our targets, though we don't want to revise the official target," said Vinnie Mehta, MAIT executive director. In the April-June 2004 quarter, India sold 930,000 computers, and 3.6 million were purchased for the fiscal year that ended in March 2005. Mehta said an increase in the availability of software and content in Indian languages aided the growth. The prices of faster Internet services have also been falling and fueling demand, he said. Earlier this year, India's state-run phone company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. dropped monthly Internet fees to $6, while most service providers charge about $22. Mehta said other service providers are expected to lower their prices. Despite a population of more than 1 billion people, only 16 million computers were used in India as of March 2005. But demand has risen after prices fell to $220 for a basic computer, from $1,000 four years ago.