Many old economy companies have shown far greater momentum than their software services counterparts in the last three years.

While software companies have been growing at a three-year compound annual growth rate of 33 per cent, retail, mining and power transmission firms have grown at a much faster rate.

For example, retail has been the fastest growing sector with a three-year compounded annual growth rate of 46.64 per cent (Pantaloon Retail tops the charts with 57 per cent growth), followed by mining companies, which grew 44.8 per cent on the back of a huge international demand for iron ore.

Non-ferrous metals and power transmission firms were next in the list of fastest-growing sectors, with 43.8 per cent and 36.6 per cent growth, respectively.

In fact, 15 sectors have grown at a three-year compounded annual growth rate of over 30 per cent since 2002-03, the year when corporate India made a spectacular turnaround with sales and profits rebounding after years of stagnation. The sectors include commercial vehicles, diamond and jewellery, and capital goods.

Among other sectors, diamond and jewellery has been growing at a three-year compounded annual growth rate of 33.2 per cent, IT-enabled services at 31.5 per cent, forgings at 30 per cent, automobiles (commercial) at 29.4 per cent and the hotels, textile machinery and construction sectors at 25 per cent each.

In terms of net profit, 72 industries have been growing at over 25 per cent due to rising commodity prices, higher price realisation and growth in sales.

"The growth per se is not the story any more. Growth is now sustainable and some of the sectors may continue to grow at a such a pace. This also explains overseas investors' interest in the Indian market," an analyst with a foreign brokerage said.

The profit of steel firms saw a compounded annual growth rate of 145 per cent to Rs 10,491 crore (Rs billion), while that of non-ferrous metal firms grew by 87 per cent. Following them were cement at 130.6 per cent, textile machinery at 93 per cent and hotels at 90 per cent.