All the PCs come with a built-in 56K fax modem, 15" monitor, Windows 98 and a one-year return-to-bench warranty, according to a company press release. The PCs also come bundled with Satyam Interent package enabling users to connect to the net instantaneously and education and entertainment software.

The Pavilion 4403 is powered by a 333 MHz AMD K6-2 with 32 MB SDRAM and 3.2 GB hard disk. In the mid-range, the Pavilion 4407 (366 Mhz Celeron, 48 MB SDRAM, 4.3 GB hard disk) and the Pavilion 6418 (400 MHz Pentium II, 64 MB SDRAM, 9.6 GB hard disk) are priced at Rs 51,999 and Rs 79,999respectively. The top end Pavilion 8415 is powered by the newest Intel Pentium III chip running at 450 MHz with 96 MB SDRAM and 9.6 GB hard disk.

The company quoted IDC figures as saying the home PC market would grow at 96 per cent in the current year. "The new price points are a strategic move to offer high-featured produced at competitive prices," Ravi Aggarwal, vice-president (computer products), said. HP (India) had a revenue of Rs 656 crore in 1997-98. The company is wholly owned subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Company and has a manufacturing facility in Bangalore.

HP had already announced that its Pavilion range computers would contribute more than 50 per cent of its consumer product turnover for the current fiscal which in turn contributes about 20-30 per cent to company's total turnover. The Rs 656 crore HP India is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hewlett Packard of the US.

FM nod for hardware package

NEW DELHI: Finance ministerYashwant Sinha has given approval to the jinxed hardware report of the national information technology task force, thus paving the way for cabinet approval. Sinha's much-awaited nod to the report, including the controversial soft bonded IT units , has rekindled hopes that the prime minister's office may finally be able to put up the same for cabinet's consideration once prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has cleared it within a fortnight.

The PMO will also put up before the cabinet the third and final report of the task force relating to initiatives in research and development, human resource development and content creation. The third report is less likely to find opposition from any quarters as it relates to a long-term policy vision. When contacted, National Informatics Centre director general N Seshagiri confirmed that the report had cleared the GoM hurdle, but added that it may take at least two weeks to go through the government procedures.