India PC sales on the rise

India expects higher computer sales this fiscal year, spurred by falling prices and rising demand, a manufacturers' group said Tuesday. As many as 3 mil computers could be sold, compared to an initial target of 2.7 mil units, the Manufacturers' Association of Information Technology said in a statement.

India, with a population of more than 1 bil, has one of the lowest rates of computer ownership in the world, at just nine computers per 1,000 people. The global average is 27 computers per 1,000 people, and in the United States it exceeds 500. In early 2003, a basic computer was priced at $600, unaffordable to most in a country with a per capita income of $480.