Low Govt spending holds back PC sales

new delhi: pc sales are looking up in the current (january-march) quarter compared to the nightmarish previous two quarters. however, it is not champagne time yet as government buying has slowed down. traditionally, this quarter sees the largest buying from the government sector. though the general expectation is that sales in january-march would grow over the previous quarter, in terms of year-on-year growth, it will still at best be flat.the sector has witnessed two consecutive quarters of negative growth. subin joseph, head of hp india's pc division, says, "pc sales to the government sector have grown this quarter compared to the last, but if you compare it with last year's government spending in the same period, it will roughly be around 80 per cent." industry insiders say the banking sector, one of the biggest buyers in the last couple of years, is also slowing down, with many of the psu banks meeting their branch computerisation targets. however, most companies are expecting strong demand from the it-enabled services for sailing the current downturn. shashi b mal, country manager (personal computing division) of ibm india, says: "the government buying is holding steady, but the real opportunity is the it-enabled services, which is growing at a rapid pace." "purchases from the banking sector have also slowed down with many banks meeting their computerisation targets, but the small and medium companies are still buying," he adds. also, companies are hoping that the software sector, another heavy buyer, will pick up with positive news coming from the us. many software companies have postponed upgradation of machines, with the us—its biggest market—in recession. companies hope that a surge in demand will emerge from the software sector in the latter half of this calendar year. hcl infosystems which is a strong player in the government and banking sector, however, says pc sales in the current quarter are meeting expectations. typically, 60 per cent of pc sales take place in the second half of the financial year. the january-march quarter absorbs majority of these sales. the july-september 2001 was the worst quarter, with pc sales showing negative growth for the first time in the country. the october-december quarter also saw negative growth on a year-on-year basis. without any major revision in pc prices following the budget, demand from the consumer segment is also not expected to grow significantly. however, with board and annual examinations around the corner, some buying is expected in the home segment in the current quarter.