How old is the Rajasthan Computer Traders’ Association (RCTA)? Please share the details of the Governing Body of RCTA?
RCTA is almost nine years old. The first Committee was constituted with Rupesh Kedia as its President. So far, there have been three committees. The present one is the fourth Committee which is functioning.

RCTA’s core team comprises of six elected members – President, Vice-President, Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasurer and Public Relations Officer. Apart from these six elected office-bearers, there are 17 Executive Members chosen by the core team. The tenure of the Governing Body is two years, starting from 1st April. The election process is on a voting basis and an election officer is appointed by the outgoing team who organizes the election in a democratic way for each post. With the voting results, the new Committee takes over.

How do you tackle the channel-vendor issues? Please share some details, if possible.
We not only resolve channel-vendor issues but channel-channel issues also. All issues are handled without any bias. Both sides are given equal opportunity to present their stand and we try to resolve them amicably. We have settled a few issues in the past like cases between Compuage v/s Rajshree and SES v/s Kamal.

Mostly, we are approached to resolve payment-related issues. All have been resolved to the satisfaction of the parties concerned. But as per our policy, we cannot share the nature of the issues involved in detail.

Are fraudulent and “fly by night” kind of activities prevalent in the Jaipur market? What measures do you adopt to minimize them?
This is an unfortunate part of IT Business prevailing everywhere. Our market is also affected by such people. Once we get an official complaint, we issue an advisory to all the members to play safe. We also upload the list of such names on our website: www.rctaonline.com.

But coincidentally the recent slowdown has really made people overcautious and they double check before executing any transaction and try to avoid any dealing with a new company.

Do you think the focus of vendors is insignificant towards smaller towns or non-metros?
Yes, it is true. Due to less business happening, the vendors sometimes do not pay much attention to these smaller towns. There have been instances when their representatives were less experienced or less polished. But, over time, tier-II and tier-III cities are emerging as the potential markets. The awareness towards IT gadgets among the residents of these smaller towns has gone up drastically in the past two-three years. The IT vendors have started realizing this accordingly have increased their focus.

As a result major trend in the state is that of the shift towards retail or exclusive branded counters. Though modern trade in the IT sector has not been able to create buzz in the state at all.

Is Rajasthan still a price-sensitive market? What is the consumption of IT products in the state?
Yes, Jaipur is still a very price-sensitive market. We still have assembled PCs ruling the sales because of better margins for the channel partner and better up-gradation option for the consumers.

In the PC categories, popular brands are HP-Compaq followed by HCL and Acer. When it comes to laptops, again HP leads market with Acer and Dell falling second and third.

What are the market verticals that are driving sales in the state? How aggressive is the government sector?
Rajasthan has become an important educational hub in the last two years. If we consider the number, it has more than 60 Engineering Colleges, 40 Business Management Institutes, 15 Pharmacy Institutes, 4 Hotel Management Institutes, 3 Medical Colleges and 6 Dental Colleges. It also has 8 universities, including the Rajasthan University. Setting up of more such institutions in the State is in the pipeline. The education sector has become one of the major sales driving verticals. Not only this, education sector drives the penetration of desktops and laptops in the households as well.

Besides this, the penetration of multinational corporates and BPOs has changed the complete picture of IT in the State. Some of the already operating companies in Rajasthan include Infosys, Genpact and Wipro. The entry of MNCs and BPOs in the State, opening of new educational institutions, which include both private and government institutions, are the major market drivers shaping up the IT landscape in Rajasthan. Also, the boom in the tourism sector has driven the Government in taking major steps like bringing WiFi in the State. Hence, tourism can also be a major sales driving vertical for the growth of the IT trade in the country.

Does RCTA conduct any IT expos and fairs in the region? If yes, please share the details.
RCTA do organize trade exhibitions in the State. Till date, the Association has organized two exhibitions and they have been a great success. In fact, RCTA has created history by organizing these trade shows in a very short time and at a very reasonable cost maintaining international standards. The first exhibition was organized with the help of an event company but the last expo that was held in the month of September last year was organized fully and exclusively by RCTA and it remains an achievement in itself. As a matter of fact, organizing IT expos and fairs in the State will remain a commitment for us always.

Do you have an IT market hub in the State similar to Nehru place or Lamington Road that we have in Delhi?
Yes, there is the Raisar Plaza in Jaipur, Meera Market in Chittor and Sardar Sheher in Jodhpur which are very much similar to the Nehru Place market in Delhi. In other cities, most of the IT partners are situated within 1-2 kms distance.