Upbeat mood in IT consumption: MAIT

Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), the apex body
representing India's IT hardware, training and R&D services sectors,
announced the findings of its Industry Performance Review for the first-half of
financial year 2006-07. The total PC sales between April and September 2006,
with desktop computer and notebooks taken together, were 2.96 million (29.6 lakh)
units, registering a growth of 19 percent over the same period last fiscal. The
buoyant mood in IT consumption was led by significant growth in notebook sales,
which grew by 180 percent, while consumption of desktops grew by eight percent.
PC sales are projected to cross 6.5 million units in fiscal 2006-07, given the
strong macroeconomic conditions and buoyant buying sentiment in the market, led
by demand from various industry verticals.

Q2 ending Sep 06 witnessed PC sales exceeding 1.75 million units, registering
a growth rate of 46 percent over the previous quarter and 19 percent YoY.
Desktop sales crossed 1.5 million units with 48 percent sequential growth while
notebook sales totaled 0.25 million units with 38 percent sequential growth.

Demand was highest from telecom, banking and financial service sectors,
education, retail and BPO/ITeS, and rose also on account of some major
e-governance initiatives of the union and state governments. The southward trend
in pricing continued during the year due to technology reasons. Further,
significant consumption in the small and medium enterprises contributed to the
industry growth and consumption in the home market remained buoyant.

Commenting on the need for a strong domestic IT market to strengthen India's
hardware manufacturing industry, Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, MAIT said,
“Domestic demand is likely to gain tremendous momentum in 2007, which has been
declared the 'Year of Broadband'. We welcome the slew of encouraging policy
measures announced by the government to promote development of content in the
local languages. MAIT is geared up to facilitate more effective engagement by
the industry across verticals. It works to ensure that the growth in market
translates into manufacturing opportunities.”

DQC News Bureau