Tablet sales to double in India in FY2014

Tablet sales are set to nearly double in the current fiscal year to 3.84 million units, according to data from IT hardware industry body Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT).

The 2012-13 fiscal year was a year where consumers chose the tablet over a PC as a replacement, MAIT President J. V. Ramamurthy, said in a Times of India article. He added the combination of PC features and affordability was turning the tide in the tablet's favor.

"Tablets are cannibalizing the PC market and registering a phenomenal growth of 424 per cent in the second consecutive year," Ramamurthy said in the report. Compared to the growth in tablets, PC sales are expected to rise by a modest 8 percent to 12.11 million against 11.17 million in the previous fiscal year.

According to MAIT, tablet sales in 2012-13 stood at 1.9 million units against 0.36 million the previous year. Last year, it estimated India's tablet market would grow to 7.3 million units by 2015-16.

The market leader for Q1 was Datawind, with a 15 percent local market share, ahead of Micromax and Apple. That's  without factoring in the numbers from its government-backed Aakash budget tablets for the education sector.