According to NYT, The Indian economy grew at an unexpectedly torrid 8.9 percent annual pace in the second quarter of 2006, propelled by a sharp turnaround in its once-listless manufacturing sector, the government reported today.

India is now growing faster than most other economies in the world, and is close to rivaling China, whose emergence as a manufacturing center has left India racing to catch up.

It is also having an impact on the wireless industry. As noted in our research reports and research notes, India is close to overtaking China in terms of subscriber growth. Last month they added almost 6M subs. That is almost equal to what the top 4 US operators (which make up over 80% of the subscriber base) added in the three months (Q206). And rural growth hasn’t really kicked-in yet.