title: China and India: Opportunities and Threats for the Global Software Industry (Chandos Asian Studies Series)
author: John T McManus MD MCR FACEP FAAEM
description: John McManus, PhD is based at the University of Lincoln (UK).<br /><br /><i>Mingzhi Li</i> is an Associate Professor of Economics at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, P. R. China.<br /><br /><i>Deependra Moitra</i> is a senior corporate executive at one of Indias leading global IT consulting and services companies.
zlib_text: Editorial
  You pay more for
  the OS and office
  software than for
  the PC itself. This
  discrepancy is
  inexplicable
  W
  E SHOULD EXPECT that PC
  penetration in India should
  accelerate exponentially now
  that the Rs 10,000 barrier has been
  breached. However, there remains a
  very important hurdle before this
  happens. Software.
  Why do all multinational software
  companies in India charge extortionate
  prices? Especially when the duty on
  software products is zero per cent?
  Think about it. You can now purchase a
  new PC at just Rs 10,000, but if you were
  to add the OS and the office software,
  you’d end up paying more for the
  software than for the PC. This
  discrepancy is inexplicable.
  Every company seriously interested
  in growing their market and genuinely
  interested in the development of their
  products and services adapts to local
  conditions. Case in point is the Rs 20
  McAloo Tikki burger or the Rs 1,200
  Levi’s jeans, which sell in the US for
  $1.99 and $45 respectively in their
  home market—the USA. 
  Th