India's stars appear to have aligned. Four consecutive years of impressive growth have silenced doubts about the sustainability of India's economic boom, and its rising international stature is reflected in a recent historic deal with the United States, giving India access to nuclear power technology without having to relinquish its nuclear weapons. Experts say if India stays on its current path it could be a global power by mid-century. Yet, India remains exceedingly poor. Per capita income is less than half of China's, and a quarter of the more than 1 billion Indians live below the poverty line. Government pledges to extend the benefits of growth to all are hampered by corruption and red tape. So, while the world's second-most populous country and largest democracy is headed in the right direction, it still has a long way to go.

Ken Moritsugu, based for two years in New Delhi, is a special correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers. Until August 2004, he was the national economics correspondent of the Washington Bureau. He previously was a staff reporter at the St. Petersburg Times, The Japan Times in Tokyo and Newsday, where he was part of a reporting team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.