New Delhi, Oct 05: In sharp contrast to the South-east Asian tigers, India's economy has often been compared to an elephant lumbering along. Not any longer. The desi pachyderm is not only moving, it's jogging, according to a slew of leading financial services firms in the US. And everyone wants a piece of the action. No wonder, inbound flights are chock-a-block with global CEOs keen on taking a closer look at an economy that is attracting glowing mentions the world over. ''I can see a hurricane approaching,'' observes Michael T Clark, executive director of the US India Business Council. ''The next five to seven years belong to India and the baby step reforms all these years are working collectively.''

Clark is mirroring a changed perception about India in the global marketplace. An India that is poised for faster growth on the back of feel-good monsoons, high consumer spending, low inflation, and extra-fit companies. That this is fuelling FII (Foreign Institutional Investors) funds into a heady stock market is only part of the picture. What comes across is the view that India's moment in the sun has arrived.

''The question is not whether to be bullish on India, but how bullish one should be,'' says a report by JP Morgan, which refers to India's ''goldilocks'' macro story. It refers to the high job creations in services — especially BPO — and says this is not present anywhere in the world. Wall St private equity firm Warburg Pincus has placed a bigger bet on India than on China.

The star performers, funnily enough, are from good old manufacturing — steel, capital goods, automobiles. ''Sure, you cannot make robots here. But if there's anything to do with the mind and the hand, there's no better place than India,'' says a Chennai-based global auto major. Many see India with potential to become an outsourcing centre to manufacture everything from cars and auto components to steel and petrochemicals.

Manufacturing and services jobs continue to flow to India and China from the US economy. ''The biggest beneficiary will be India. But there has to be a strategy in place. And expect roadblocks from US as it goes to polls next year,'' said a global consultant.

More important, Indian companies are fitter than ever before. ''The real success of India's story lies in corporate restructuring. The men and the boys have been separated and corporate sector is in right shape,'' adds Sanjeev Sanyal, senior economist at Deutsche Bank in Singapore.
The services sector isn't lagging behind. More than two 2 million people are acquiring cell phones month after month. The market for homes is booming at over 30 per cent, which has a multiplier effect in the buoyant growth of everything from cars to consumer durables. ''Post-1991, this is going to be the best Diwali in India,'' avers an FMCG major. So, what are the roadblocks? Elections are around the corner and that might slow down reforms and increase government spending on subsidies.


And the road ahead? ''Only double-digit growth will help move 300 million people out of the poverty line,'' avers economist Jayanta Roy. ''It's is not a dream, but a possibility.''