India Inc:
While Western economies lament their slow recovery from the global financial crisis, India and China are powering ahead.Superycles are rare events. If we are experiencing one - and opinion is still divided - it would be only the third since the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 18th century. Then, it was sparked by technical innovations and the rise of the American economy. The second followed World War Two and was prompted by the rebuilding of the European economies.
The received wisdom is that this third supercycle is being powered by China's boom. But the respected British economist Michael Hughes (pictured) lays the credit firmly at India's door.
"Although the emphasis has been on China and its impact on the global economy, in terms of the country to watch, this is the decade for India rather than for China," he told India Incorporated.
India's success has led to a feeding frenzy of mergers and acquisitions, at home and abroad.
"We've already seen major Indian companies start to take over the steel industry in the Western world. Some of the biggest IT companies in the world are Indian. So what used to be called the Nifty Fifty, the new companies on the block, are increasingly Indian in origin," said Mr Hughes.
These newcomers are often big names in their home countries but less well-known abroad. They may decide to quote on overseas exchanges, Mr Hughes said, even though with a strong domestic franchise there is no financial imperative.
"I think they will be powerful enough to take over some of the companies we do recognise. Within the IT sector and communications and telecommunications areas in particular, you will begin to see Indian firms having the financial muscle to take advantage of companies in the West that are probably struggling financially, even though they have historically a high proportion of their local markets," Mr Hughes said.
Economists may be peddling the theory. But it is India, it seems, that is pedalling the supercycle.
