The company has launched a new range of PCs, branded as CompuBell, which is targeted at the home users and small firms who do not need a feature-rich PC. The entry level PC for Rs 15,990 comes with a configuration of P233 MMX Pentium-I, 16 MB RAM, 1GB hard disk drive and a 14'' colour monitor.

This bare PC, the cheapest branded machine to be offered in India so far, will not come come bundled with pre-loaded Windows operating system and the multimedia kit will be optional.

``This PC, with a lower end configuration, is just right for individuals using them for home use, or for small companies like software companies or IT-enabled firms who need such PCs for data processing purposes,'' said Computech chairman SK Rateria.

Almost 90 per cent of components for the PCs, being assembled by Computech at its Silvassa plant are resourced from US-based PC company Bell Technologies with which it has an exclusive technical and marketing tie-up.

The secret behind such slashing of the price, Rateria said, lay in the fact that most of the components used in this PC had been discontinued and phased out by manufacturers worldwide. But a large stock existed of processors like P-I 233 MMX, I GB HDD and 14'' monitors, which were in circulation even till last year, according to Rateria.

Companies like Bell had built up a large inventory of such components which meant Computech could continue putting together such models for a long time to come within this range, Rateria added.

CompuBell would be marketed through channel partners. Computech already has 150 of these and will soon appoint 150 more, mainly in the smaller metros, he said. The company, which claims it sold about 12,000 Packard Bell machines a year till the company shut down last year, will now be able to sell 60,000 PCs a year.

Computech, in which public holding is to the tune of 85 per cent, is going for a private placement of equity to raise Rs 33 crore for expanding its software operations and to expand its Silvassa manufacturing facility.

``We are in the process of raising Rs 33 crore through private placement. Of this, we have already raised about half the amount, having placed 15 lakh shares to brokers and mutual funds. We are offering 30 lakh shares at Rs 113 each and the entire process is expected to be completed by end of September,'' said Rateria.

Computech has already applied to the Reserve Bank of India for permission to open subsidiaries in Singapore and London. These will be used for marketing company's software operations, based primarily on Oracle platform.

The company posted a revenue of Rs 80 crore and the profit after tax of Rs 17 crore in the fiscal year ended March 2000. It is targeting a turnover of Rs 130 crore in the present fiscal.