The glittering party at a top hotel recently, which sealed the marriage between a Singaporean girl and the only son of a Kolkata tycoon, caught the imagination of the city.

It also revealed the rising flow of wealthy Indians and trained professionals into this city-state. Many have taken up permanent residency and bought properties ranging from posh bungalows by the sea to suburban condominiums or public apartments.

With India emerging as Asia’s new economic giant, Singapore is working to tap into its rapid growth just as it did in China in the 90s.

The 16.5 carat wedding was the latest thing Indian that has caught the interest of this predominately Chinese city; others include visitors like movie stars, fashion models or chefs.

Bollywood producers have been shooting parts of their films here and Indian companies are listing in the Singapore stock market. Doctors re-sit their exam here to gain acceptance into the medical world.

At the lower level, thousands of migrant children – like their counterparts from China – are studying at special schools here, the bright ones being given state scholarships and later tempting job offers.

Singapore’s fourth university, UniSIM, will soon start a degree course in the Tamil language for 100 students each year. It will involve professors from Madurai Kamaraj University and other Indian institutions.

However, the biggest impact is the rising influx of entrepreneurs, especially in the computer software industry but also covering others, who are flocking here in response to Singapore’s open door policy.

While some Singaporeans resent them as a “threat” to their livelihood, their presence has nevertheless helped this country to become – and compete as – a higher-skilled service hub.

The arrivals include university professors, doctors and financial analysts at the top end and technicians, IT engineers, etc, at the other.

Singapore’s ties with India date back to the colonial past, but in recent years the two countries – driven by common needs – have moved closer to form a strategic relationship that includes joint sea-air military exercises.

Above all, Singapore has begun to draw from its vast resources of human talent.

With the old manufacturing economy disappearing, Singapore is being forced to move into a higher-skilled services economy and this requires trained professional and experienced entrepreneurs that it does not have.

So it is increasingly turning to India, a traditional manpower source like China and Malaysia, to fill the gap.

India fits the bill because – as one Singaporean puts it – “Mumbai has good software but bad hardware, while Singapore has bad software and good hardware.” It is a good merger of skills.

In reply to locals who complain about losing jobs to foreigners, the government has often explained that if this talent goes elsewhere, “it will be used to compete against us”.

The new generation of Indians is no longer like their parents.

I recall my contemporaries saying that unlike the Chinese, who are born businessmen, the Indians are not.

“They’re philosophers, not pragmatic entrepreneurs,” a friend once told me.

This is much less true among India’s younger tech-savvy set – among them many Western-trained business managers – who are capable of turning an idea into profits. These are much sought after here.

New Indian migrants have little difficulty blending into society here. Some 9% of Singapore’s 4.25 million people are ethnic Indians and Tamil is one of four official languages. There are many shared cultures.

There’s a Little India lined with Indian restaurants and shops selling spices and sarees. An Indian-language TV channel broadcasts daily a diet of movies and news.

By comparison, India remains behind China as trade and investment partner and will likely remain so for some time, but with India’s rising economic power, the potential for closing the gap is huge.

Standing in the way to a quantum leap, however, are India’s protective policies and unattractive investment laws especially for foreigners.

India and – to a lesser extent – the oil-rich Middle East have joined China to become Singapore’s best prospects to grow its diversifying economy.

Since birth, Singapore’s survival has depended on trade with the world and this remains so in the New Economy.

Lee Kuan Yew has often talked about not “leaving all the eggs in one basket”. Over-relying on China or any single nation is clearly being avoided here and India and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States are viewed as important alternatives.

Singapore’s top leaders have been making frequent trips to these countries in recent years.

Investment is a two-way traffic. Singaporeans who want a piece of India’s middle-class market have set up factories there, but billion-dollar investments are – unlike in China – distinctly lacking. The obstacle is the mind-boggling haze of bureaucratic rules that are stifling – and driving away – even its own businessmen.

During a seminar in Chandigarh, Indian entrepreneur Sabeer Bhatia came down heavily on his government for stifling entrepreneurship and innovation, saying that even today he could not “do a Hotmail in India”.

He charged the authorities of being too protective of local big business and that this was stifling entrepreneurship in the country.

“Had I attempted to create Hotmail in India, somebody would have come to me claiming that I was taking away the revenues of phone or fax companies,” he said.

The legal minefield is driving many medium-sized IT businesses to operate here to escape the bureaucrats and politicians back home.

o Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com

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