Hurt by lesser number of entry level models, the tablet market in registered a growth of just 76 per cent in 2013-14 compared to the over 400 per cent growth in 2012-13, IT hardware industry body MAIT said on Wednesday.

According to the annual MAIT Industry Performance Review (ITOPS), conducted market research firm IMRB International, tablet sales in India grew by 76 per to 3.35 million units in 2013-14 fiscal compared to 19,03,356 units in 2012-13.

In contrast, tablet sales registered a whopping 424 per cent growth in 2012-13 compared to 3,67,500 units in 2011-12, the survey data showed.

When asked about reasons behind the decline in growth, MAIT President Amar Babu said: “There are two ways to look at this. One is tactical and the other is market.”

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms impacted the tablet market. Due to the compulsory registration issue many entry-level tablet makers could not release their products in the market, which affected the sales, he added.

Compulsory Registration Order, 2012 makes registration mandatory for 15 electronic products like video games, laptops and microwave ovens to ensure safety standards.

Babu further said the market reason behind the decline is the rise of phablets (devices with 5-7 inch screen size), which has eaten into the share of tablets.

IMRB International Group Business Director BIRD Biswapriya Bhattacharjee said: “The consumer sentiment was also hurt by the low-cost tablets as their experience was not as per their expectations.”

According to Cyber Media Research (CMR), tablet shipments in India fell 17.5 percent in January-March 2014 quarter to 746,463 units compared to 905,594 units in Q1 CY2013. The figure stood at 1,032,739 units in October-December 2013.

“BIS certification issues had a temporary impact. However, rise in popularity of phablets has diminished the significance of tablets among potential consumers, particularly in the sub Rs 15,000-20,000 price category,” the firm said.

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