Panjim, March 27 -- Elsa Angel Rose

Conversations in Goa surround the weather these days, and mostly for the wrong reasons. The heat is truly on and what makes it nearly unbearable is the sweltering humidity. One natural, almost inevitable fallout has been the steady increase in AC sales. Most appliance store managers report an increase of sales to the tune of 15-20% during this summer season, when compared with their sales figures last year.

"A 50-50 ratio can be seen on the sales of new and replacement ACs," said Kaushik Talaulikar, owner of an electrical appliance store in Panjim. A combination of record sales and rising costs has turned the air conditioning market into one of the hottest sectors in the consumer durables field.

Acco...