JOIN USLenovo, the $46-billion Chinese computer giant, has announced a strategy to strengthen its ‘Step up with Lenovo’ campaign, pushing the awareness, usage and penetration of PCs (personal computer) in India, with the belief that it would help GDP and economic development in the long run.
In terms of PC usage and penetration, India has a mere 10 per cent of it, even when compared with fellow BRICS members — Brazil (45 per cent), Russia (35 per cent), China (35 per cent) and South Africa (18 per cent). Even neighbouring Sri Lanka enjoys greater penetration at 16 per cent of its population.
While the urban areas in India account for 19 per cent of the total country’s PC usage, the rural folk hold only five per cent. The main bottlenecks affecting computer penetration in India are the lack of awareness of PC usage, as well as the availability and affordability of PCs. “PC penetration helps push the economy and facilitates GDP growth. Use of computers readies people for a series of tasks and activities, with right imparting of skills and training,” Lenovo India Director (Marketing) Bhaskar Choudhuri said.
Through the ‘Start up with Lenovo’ campaign’s pilot phase in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra, the company is now widening this initiative to cover the youth in tier-II markets across India, bringing the campaign to Karnataka, this time.
Lenovo is also providing an end-to-end package to make computers more accessible and affordable to the youth across the market. This includes an attractive finance scheme, PC accessories and largescale promotion to drive awareness. Through this programme, Lenovo is aiming at educating the youth about the importance and benefits of PCs as well as providing the financial support to purchase one.