India to witness ‘exponential’ computer growth: official

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2010 (AFP) - India is about to witness an explosion in the spread of personal computers and Internet connectivity, visiting Minister of State for IT and Communications Sachin Pilot said Tuesday.











Asked about US computer giant Dell's reported intention to move its manufacturing facilities from China to India, Pilot only could confirm that he met with Dell officials last week, without providing further details.

"An exponential growth will happen in PC penetration and Internet penetration" in the Asian giant, which is already a major player in global information technology and outsourcing, the Indian official told the Indian-American Chamber of Commerce.

The service sector currently accounts for 57 percent of India's gross domestic product, most of it involving information technology (IT), which over the past few years has been growing at an annual pace of nine percent, said Pilot, 34.

In 2010, India's IT sector is expected to hit double-digit growth, said India's ambassador to Washington, Meera Shankar.

Between now and 2014, Pilot said, the IT sector in India will be needing hardware equipment worth an estimated 400 billion dollars.

"We need semi-conductors, simple factorie