New Delhi: The sales of personal computers in India registered 11 percent growth in the first half of fiscal 2007-08, with notebook sales logging an impressive 59 percent rise, says a study released Tuesday by an industry lobby.

"Notebooks have emerged as a significant driver for the personal computer market in India in the first half of 2007-08," said Vinnie Mehta, executive director of the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT).

The sales to large firms were less than expected, especially for desktops, and the growth was led by segments including telecom, financial service, education, outsourcing and government, he said releasing the market study.

According to the study, the total personal computer sales during April-September 2007 were 3.28 million units, with the year expected to end with a net sales of over 7.25 million for this segment of the hardware industry.

"Servers registered a growth of 50 percent over the first half of last fiscal, riding on high consumption by the small and medium establishments," said the study, undertaken by leading market research firm IMRB International, formerly known as Indian Market Research Bureau.

It said the number of computers with active Internet connections increased to 6.43 million as on September 2007, against 5.27 million in September 2006. Internet penetration, it added, was up at 48 percent among businesses and 18 percent among households.

The study also pointed out that the market for printers actually shrank, with 82 percent decline for line printers, 24 percent for dot matrix, 9 percent for lasers and 2 percent for inkjets.

MAIT had initiated the study in 1996-97 and this round - under the categories of computers, networking products, printers, peripherals and Internet connections - involved interviews with over 24,500 respondents in 22 cities.

Source : IANS