With prices of PCs coming down, and companies working with banks to get lower EMIs, sales in smaller towns have risen quite impressively. In 1997-98, just 10 per cent of annual PC sales were in the non-top 8 cities. At that time, the average price of a PC was around Rs 46,250. By 2003-04, however, just 55 per cent of annual sales were in the top 8 cities with the prices of PCs coming down to just Rs 23,000. The critical factor here, clearly, is the cost of finance "" for a four-year loan, the EMI for a Rs 20,000 PC is Rs 548 if the interest rate is 20 per cent but this comes down to Rs 457 if the interest rate is a lower 10 per cent. Apart from producing lower-cost PCs, collaborations with banks will be an equally critical part of the manufacturers' job over the future.
