new delhi the newage tablet is apparently gobbling up the pc market sales of tablets shot up from just 36 lakh units in 201112 to over 19 lakh in the last fiscal a jump of over 400 even as desktop pc sales grew by just 1 latest data released by the manufacturers association for information technology mait on wednesday showed the demand for tablets was driven by users desire for apps applications to track everything from calories burned to the weather to navigating the city although india was a late entrant to the world of smartphones and tablets it now seems to be moving in line with global trends with users climbing up the ladder smartphone sales went past 15 crore units in 201213 compared to over 95 lakh in the previous year desktop computer sales was at 6769 lakh unitspsus govt institutions keep pcs alive but unlike the international market where pc sales have declined for straight quarters institutional demand and purchases in smaller towns is keeping companies in business the latest international data corporation idc numbers show that pc sales fell almost 14 in januarymarch 2013 while tablets surged 143 49 crore units in fact the first quarter global tablet sales was more than what was sold during januaryjune 2012 reflecting skyrocketing demand in emerging markets such as india with prices going down consumers have plenty to choose from right from the topnotch apple ipads that cost around rs 50000 to a gamut of devices from samsung and then percolating down to homegrown brands like micromax and karbonn tablets come for as low as rs 5000 a bulk of the desktop pc sales is restricted to government psus and educational establishments which together account for as much as 65 of the sales in terms of household sales these are happening in what i would call the rest of india or cclass towns the metros and bclass towns are no longer major buyers of desktops said ramamurthy who now wants a special package from the government to revive the pc market