PC sales up 37% in FY03

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 11 July 2003, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
Thanks to corporate buying, India's sale of computers in the year ended March 31 touched 2.29 million units, a growth of 37 percent over fiscal 2001-02, it was announced Friday.

NEW DELHI: The Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) said the market witnessed significant upturn in IT consumption in general manufacturing, banking and finance, telecom, media and professional services sectors. "Major e-governance and digital divide initiatives of the central and state governments are also driving IT consumption in the country," said Vinnie Mehta, executive director of MAIT. "In addition, the domestic IT Industry has focused attention on producing and developing low-cost computing solutions and the trend of increased purchase in smaller towns and cities continues undiminished," Mehta told reporters here. In fiscal 2001-02, 1.67 million computers were sold representing a decline of 11 percent over the previous year as business houses sharply cut back technology spending in a slowing economy. MAIT said keeping in view robust growth prospects the domestic computer market is expected to grow at 18 percent in fiscal 2003-04 to cross 2.7 million units. In fiscal 2002-03, the assembled computers -- the smaller lesser known regional brands and unbranded systems -- accounted for 46 percent of total sales. Although the proportion of the assembled market remained constant compared to 2001-02, the sales witnessed an increase of 43 percent, said the computer hardware industry lobby group. Indian brands' sale grew by 88 percent, garnering a market share of 26 percent. Foreign computer brands accounted for 28 percent of the overall market, registering a drop of 10 percent in sales. "The drop in market share of the foreign computer brands from 35 percent in the previous year was made up by the gain in market share of the Indian brands," said the MAIT study. Computer sales, to both the business segment and households, witnessed impressive growth compared to the sales in the last year. In fiscal 2002-03, the business segment accounted for 81 percent of the total market, growing at 37 percent over previous year. Sale of computers to smaller towns and cities also continued unabated in 2002-03. Thirty-five percent of total computer sale was accounted by smaller towns and cities. Overall the PC purchases in the top four metros - New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai -- accounted for 53 percent of the total computer sold in 2002-03, down from 56 percent logged in the previous year. "The growth in IT market that we witnessed in 2002-03 is expected to continue well into in the current fiscal year," said Mehta. "This will help bolster the confidence of the IT industry in India, especially the domestic players. With the recent, increased focus of the government on the hardware sector, we are hopeful that the industry will flourish."