Courting investment in his developing economy, Singh might not have to do an awful lot of persuading.

The country of 1.1 billion people has an annual economic growth rate of 8%. Singh exhorted government agencies last week to follow through on plans to boost that to 10%. He's hoping a $320bn infrastructure investment over three years to the end of 2010 will help to encourage growth . . . and foreign direct investment.

It's an attractive prospect, if investors are willing to take a punt. In its efforts to join the economic elite, India has plenty of growing pains.

It's having to rapidly address legislation that hinders foreign ownership, and investment, and layers of bureaucracy that can stifle the very aims the prime minister extols.

The $320bn investment is certainly ambitious . . .

acknowledged as so . . . but desperately needed. Vast swathes of the capital, Delhi, experience regular power cuts.

Outside urban areas, supplies are even more erratic. This in a country that has joined the space race (by 2008 it will launch a lunar probe) and detonated nuclear weapons.

The money earmarked for the three- year development plan pans out like this: an average spend of $291 per head of population, or $107 per square kilometre of land. On paper, it may look good. But try this for size: Ireland's National Development Plan from 2000-2006 set aside a spend of 57bn that included public, private and European Union funds. That's a whopping 87,740 per square land kilometre, or 15,000 per capita based on a population in 2000 of 3.8m. And that's in euro, not dollars, which would make the differences even more stark, at current rates at least.

India, like China, has such an immense geographic scale . . . and population size . . .

to tackle, that the road to economic wealth is made all the longer. But for India it's a route worth following. About 25% of the population still lives on less than $1 a day.

Singh wants to tackle the endemic poverty that blights much of the country.

And with this backdrop and knowing that some day India has a good prospect of becoming an economic powerhouse, Irish companies are making the first tentative steps towards being part of India's future.

Earlier this year, an Enterprise Ireland-sponsored trade mission spearheaded by the Taoiseach visited the country. The entourage included representatives from approximately 90 companies, from the Republic and Northern Ireland. Among them was Michael O'Donovan, managing director of Corkbased Audit Diagnostics, a firm that manufactures medical diagnostic kits.

"We actually first went out seven years ago and began knocking on doors, " explained O'Donovan, whose company employs 40 people in Cork and exports virtually all of its production. The reception was welcoming, but O'Donovan found that the enthusiasm on the Indian side all but evaporated once there was no one from the Irish company on the ground in India to continue the courting process.

High Indian import taxes . . . anywhere between 70% to 80% . . . were also a clear barrier to trade. After a couple of false starts, the company finally hit on a solution: a 50-50 joint venture in Delhi that will manufacture kits with ingredients imported from Ireland.

The operation, which involves a "six figure investment", will initially employ eight people and should be operational by January. Latest accounts for Audit Diagnostics show it made a profit of 170,000 last year.

"It was a daunting prospect when we first went over, " said O'Donovan, "and it can be quite a slow process in India to take initial meetings to the next step." Having done so, he expects that when investment in the Indian healthcare system improves, Audit Diagnostic will be well positioned to capitalise on the increased expenditure.

Also well advanced in the Indian market is Belfast-based Aepona, which provides solutions to telecom operators. The company recorded turnover of £10m (almost 15m) last year and a loss of £4.2m ( 6.2m).

It is about to sign its first solo deal in the Indian market and last month hired a sales director for the country . . . an Indian with strong experience in the telecoms field. The company is hoping to sell to majors such as Bharti Telecom, Hutch, Reliance and BSNL.

Michael Crossey, Aepona's marketing VP, said the Indian market has significant potential. The company has worked there before in conjunction with technology manufacturers such as Nokia, but wanted to develop its presence in the market by providing solutions directly to operators to help them boost revenue and retain subscribers.

"There's a lot of focus on India and for Aepona it's a big opportunity." Crossey explained that while there are 100 million mobile subscribers in India, the figure equates to a penetration rate of below 10%;

in Ireland it's over 100%, with about 4.4m active SIM cards in use.

"Growth rates are about 30% year-onyear, " he said, "and that means about an extra 2.5 million subscribers being added every month, while average revenue per user is currently below $10 a month."

That's more than half the level in western Europe. The prize for a company such as Aepona is patently obvious. Being part of such growth could represent a massive money-spinner.

In a sweltering Delhi, the newly appointed head of Enterprise Ireland's India operation, Gabriel McCarrick, knows that for Irish firms the sub-continent represents opportunity, but also difficulty.

"You have to have a good-value proposition and you have to build trust, " he cautioned any Irish firms hoping to do business in the country. "Buyers here don't want to pay European prices either.

If product costs $100 a unit in Europe, expect to sell it for maybe $75 here."

He said that India still has a lot of catching up to do compared to China in terms of infrastructure, particularly, but also in its ability to incentivise business involvement and growth. The majority of approaches McCarrick has so far received from Irish companies are from those looking to outsource.

But his job, he said, is to foster enterprise on a more significant level between the Irish and Indian firms. And there is a nascent bilateral interest. Earlier this month, Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm Wockhardt acquired Tipperary's Pinewood Laboratories for 118m . . . a sale first signalled in the Sunday Tribune.

But on the trade side, there's much to be done. Last year, Irish exports to India totalled just 127m. Imports amounted to 155m. For trade with China, the corresponding figures were 907m and 3.7bn.

Yes, billion. Trade deficits with both countries are difficult to eliminate due to their low labour and production costs John Whelan, chief executive of the Irish Exporters' Association, believes that for the time being at least, many of the opportunities in India for Irish companies may lie on the business-to-business side, rather than trying to sell directly to consumers.

Another issue for Irish SMEs is efficient use of resources. While India may be attractive, a level of dedication . . . which costs money . . . is needed. That's money that SMEs could spend better elsewhere.

"You have to be careful where you direct your resources, " said William Egenton, managing director of Meath-based Dromone Engineering. The company manufactures parts for agricultural and construction equipment. Egenton was on the trade trip to India, but went speculatively and has no plans at the moment to get involved in the country. "It's all down to priorities."

Irish retail investors are also displaying an appetite for Indian investments. Last year, Irish Life launched an investment fund equally split between the two countries and managed by Fidelity. The money that flowed in . . . 30m . . . "exceeded expectations", according to Irish Life marketing manager, Brendan McEvoy. Investors were typically over 50, and stumped up between 40,000 and 50,000. Among the fund's top Indian investments are Zee Telefilms, Infosys Technologies and pharma firm Cipla.

The appetite for investment in India may exist, but much work has to be done to drive trade. But as India prospers, it could be Ireland's opportunity.

THE IRISH IN INDIA AMONG the most high-pro"le Irish investments in India is that of Independent News & Media in family-owned newspaper publisher, Jagran Prakashan. It publishes Dainik Jagran, which has 21 million readers and is the most read newspaper in India. IN&M bought a 26% stake in the publisher (that cost 28m), which "oated on the stock exchange early this year. That diluted IN&M's holding to just under 21%, but it's now worth 56m.

The synergies: IN&M will launch a version of the London Independent in India, published by Jagran Prakashan, while IN&M hopes to launch an Indian language title in South Africa, which it hopes will glean readers from the sizeable Indian ethnic minority in the country.

Other Irish investors in India include property developer Treasury Holdings. The company owned by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett has just acquired a 26% stake in a wind energy project, at a cost of over 1m. Also from the construction front is Bernard McNamara, one of Ireland's largest developers, who is believed to be weighing up potential Indian projects.

Dublin Port is also scouting for opportunities, having signed a memorandum of understanding to lead a $100m port redevelopment in Indonesia. Chief executive Enda Connellan said it is hoping to generate business by providing consultancy services to small and medium sized ports in India.

With a strong track record behind it, Aer Rianta International is also hoping to secure contracts in India.