Samsung bags India's largest single order for PCs

Electronics giant Samsung has claimed to have bagged India's largest-ever single order for branded personal computers from by the Jharkhand government.

The South Korean firm, which made a foray into the PC segment in February, will supply computers to the state for a major primary education programme.

Princy Bhatnagar, country manager of Samsung's branded PC arm, told reporters here that the order involves setting up units in 375 locations across the state, putting up servers and networking.

He, however, refused to divulge details of the order, which was bagged by the company last week.

"The order will be executed by a tri-partite arrangement between Samsung, Syntech and WEBEL, the West Bengal government's nodal agency for information technology," Bhatnagar said announcing the market development plans for Samsung PCs in eastern India.

Bhatnagar claimed that the Jharkhand government's order was bigger than the one won jointly by IBM and Hewlett Packard for the Indian government's income tax department's computerisation programme.

Samsung, which a leader in the PC peripheral market, is aiming to capture 10-14 percent of the India's branded PC segment, which Bhatnagar said was witnessing a slump.

The company was also in talks with various state governments, including those in West Bengal and Orissa for extending its presence in eastern region, which contributed towards 40 percent of its PC sales.

Bhatnagar said Samsung now had 10 per cent market share in branded PC in eastern India.

"We are hoping to capture 25 per cent of the eastern market for branded PCs this year," Bhatnagar said adding that its local tie-ups for distribution and manufacturing has helped it very quickly gain in market share.