The post-budget impact on the Indian economy is beginning to become visible as several sectors have shown increased investments and markets in India too have responded positively. A whole plethora of investment opportunities have opened up and foreign direct investment too have been welcomed in many sectors. India has also been recently rated amongst the top three preferred investment destinations in a report by Vale Columbia Centre for sustainable development issues, based upon foreign accruals in both 2008 and 2009.

The Finance Minister’s statement that India can look forward to double-digit and sustainable growth is not unfounded. The engineering and construction sector accrued the enviable largest portion (35.5 per cent) of the total inflow of orders worth Rs 92,290 crore in the last quarter of 2009-10. It was followed closely by power sector with 34.4 per cent. Analysts say that the trend is likely to continue with continued inflows in the next few quarters in infrastructure sectors such as roads and power.

There is clear indication of an upsurge in the economy too, with the gain in services, such as banking and hotels, coming in after the Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing rose for the 12th straight month in March. This along with increase in imports also indicates a substantial rise in demand. Crisil Ratings too in its latest report has said that infrastructure-related industries like power equipment, steel, cement, construction, healthcare, education and financial services will see high demand growth in the medium-term and companies in such sectors are expected to witness robust growth in the current fiscal.

Meanwhile, corporate India has raised via its public offerings funds worth Rs 47,800 crore in the previous fiscal. Players including Larsen & Toubro-which is incidentally the first private engineering major to attain a cumulative Rs 100,000 crore-plus order book-and IVRCL have heavy orders up to next two years. Analysts also feel that continued flow of foreign inflows in the form of FDI, FII investments, NRI remittances and export earnings is expected to continue strengthening of the rupee.

Further, sales zoomed in the last quarter of FY2010 in sectors such as automobiles leading India into the top league of car manufacturers. A recent survey by CSM Worldwide Inc shows that global auto majors such as Hyundai, Renault Nissan and Ford have already made or are making heavy investments into huge factories in India. Auto plants of Maruti at Gurgaon and Hyundai at Tamil Nadu have been ranked amongst the top ten globally.