Computer sales in India rose 38% in the six months to September 2005 on lower prices and demand from the growing services sector, the Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT) said in a report on Jan.5.
Sales in the first half of India's fiscal year rose to 2.34 million units from 1.7 million a year earlier as prices dipped to 10,000 rupees ($245) for some basic models. "With buoyant buying sentiment in the market, PC (personal computers) sales are expected to touch 4.7 million units in (the year to March 2006)," MAIT said.
In the year to March 2005, sales reached 3.6 million units. MAIT said the increased sales were being driven by services related to the telecom, banking, financial, retail and outsourcing sectors.
"The trend of increased PC purchases in smaller towns and cities continued undiminished," it added. India's IT hardware industry is aiming to replicate the success of its booming software industry though there are only an estimated 15 million computers in the country of more than one billion people.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
