"That's a deep and growing pool of consumers -- greater than the populations of Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom combined. And for the first time, many have surplus income at their disposal for goods and services that may have once seemed extravagant.

"The banking sector was one of the first to develop and flourished on the growing demand for checking accounts, mortgage lending, credit cards, and other basic financial services.

"Further, the country has a busy auto industry, producing around 2.5 million vehicles per year. It is also a thriving market for telecom carriers, with the number of wireless subscribers expanding by more than 10 million per month and approaching the 500 million mark.

"India's crown jewel is perhaps its information technology industry, whose revenues climbed 22% last year despite budgetary cutbacks by companies around the globe.

"Software developers have become the flagships of India's development. India's developers will rake in more than $60 billion in combined sales this year -- a total that is forecast to double by 2012.

"India's growth comes from within, while the fortunes of other rapidly expanding markets are closely tied to commodities production and exports. India's domestic consumption has sheltered the country from the harsh global downturn.

"Far from recession, India is expected to see healthy GDP growth of 6% this year and 7% the next, according to the latest outlook from Standard & Poor's.

"All of this bodes well for Morgan Stanley's IIF, whose $440 million portfolio contains some of India's most attractive companies. The fund's managers have certainly earned their paychecks.

"The fund has delivered annualized returns of 21.1% during the past decade -- for a cumulative gain of 578%. And I'm confident this team will continue to capitalize on the wide-ranging opportunities available in the Indian market.

"Overall, India has blossomed into the world's fourth largest economy on the back of heavy domestic spending. Its production and consumption makes the country less vulnerable to volatile commodity prices. I think IIF presents an attractive opportunity for patient, risk-tolerant investors."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a free daily overview of the favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.