NEW DELHI: The desktop personal computer market grossed 508,000 units in the April-June quarter, representing 63 percent of that sold in the first-half of 2001-02, said the Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT). The premier hardware industry umbrella group said year-on-year quarterly sales comparisons were not possible as this was the first effort to map quarterly trends in the computer industry. "The market has shown signs of recovery, with sales in almost all product categories amounting to two-thirds of that sold in the last fiscal," said the MAIT quarterly report issued here. The severe slowdown trend in the Indian economy has adversely impacted the hardware market in the last couple of years. India's economy registered a growth of 5.4 percent in the financial year ended March 31, compared to a moderate four percent growth logged during 2000-01, official figures showed last week. The sale of computers in the year ended March touched 1.67 million units, a decline of 11 percent over the fiscal 2000-01 as companies stopped fresh purchases. The market witnessed a significant slowdown in IT consumption in general manufacturing, banking and finance, and media and professional services sectors in the last fiscal year. "With the buying sentiment in the market improving, personal computer sales in fiscal year 2002-03 are expected to grow by 15 percent, crossing 1.9 million units," said the MAIT report. Vinnie Mehta, executive director of MAIT, said: "Though the entire country witnessed an economic slowdown last year, with signs of economic recovery this year, the IT market is expected to perform better. "However, to ensure that IT reaches grass root levels in India, there is a pressing need to bring down the prices of IT products." In the April-June quarter of 2002-03, desktop personal computers, notebooks, dot matrix and laser printers have registered sales of close to two-thirds of their sales during the first half of 2001-02, it added. "Typically the July-September quarter is usually characterized by higher sales than April-June, thus the sales of the IT products in first half of 2002-03 is expected to comfortably exceed that in first half of 2001-02," the report said. In the business segment, banks, educational institutes, IT sector and IT related firms provided the recovery thrust to the manufactures, while in the household segment reduced prices have been instrumental in helping the industry recover. "Replacement demand in PCs is also expected to enhance growth in this market. New technology and new features, application better suited to run on latest machines are likely to drive replacement market," the report said. MAIT said the government should focus on creating a "conducive policy framework" for increasing IT consumption in the domestic market. "The current domestic taxes such as sales tax and excise duty make IT products significantly expensive for a price-sensitive market like India. "Further, incentives such as income tax breaks for individuals for purchase of IT product and increased depreciation on IT products in the corporate sector would help boost the demand."
Source: IANS