FITAG bans HP, HCL and Acer in Gujrat

The efforts of Gujarat Urban Co-operative Banks Federation (GUCBF) to
increase penetration of desktops in the state seems to have back fired.
Federation of IT Associations of Gujarat (FITAG), an umbrella organization
comprising as many as 20 IT association in the state, has imposed a ban on three
major PC brands HP, HCL and Acer.

The federation has called for the ban in protest of the state governments
decision to shortlist only these three brands for the ambitious Flood IT
project. By restricting the brands, the benefits of the project have also been
restricted to only those resellers of HP, Acer and HCL PCs, which is causing
quite a stir among the channel community in the region.

Kaushik Pandya, President, FITAG

Flood IT project was launched by GUCBF in a bid to offer finance on PCs to
students from kindergarten to post graduate level on zero percent interest rate.
The initiative was targeted towards increasing the penetration of PCs across
Gujarat, especially in the rural hinterlands.

“We have requested partners to stop all billings with distributors, regional
distributors and sub distributors for these brands till further notice. If they
do so, and it comes to the notice of officials of FITAG, they will issue
instructions to all their members to stop doing business with that partner till
March 31,” said Kaushik Pandya, President, FITAG.

The federation has also questioned the availability of post-sale services of
the three brands in the remote areas of the state, as support services will be a
serious issue for smaller towns. Only local and regional players can provide
effective service.

To address these issues the organization plans to hold a meeting soon.