The Indian PC Market on the Rise

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Global Outlook Contd...

Exhibit-III: PC Market (Global & US)
Worldwide (per cent)

United States (per cent)

The Future

Coming to the India market, it is expected that the Indian PC market will grow by 28% in the year 2005 and 26% in 2006. As George Paul, Vice-President (Marketing), HCL Infosystems says, "The development of technology customized to the needs of emerging markets is the key to business growth." Though the growth is less in comparison with 2004, it is far above than the expected worldwide growth. The post-WTO Information Technology Act has brought in good news for both manufacturers and customers. The reduced duties on imports have further enabled PC manufacturers to reduce the prices of their PCs. But, 'value-added services' and 'after sales support' offered by the branded manufacturers have scored over the price factor. Experts are hopeful that the successful trend of branded PCs improving their market share will continue in 2005 also. They expect further cuts in the import duty and customs duty on the branded PCs will help them reach more and more customers. At the same time, they are of the opinion that though the growth in the sales of PCs will continue, the year 2005 will not see a further reduction in the prices of PCs which means that in 2005 PCs will be available at almost the same price tag as in 2004. While some experts feel that the prices of PCs have come down remarkably almost within the reach of a common man's budget, others are of the opinion that there is still a long way to go before PC becomes affordable to the rural consumer.