Private equity firms clearly want to add some spice to their business as they curry favor with India. According to Bloomberg News, with India's economy booming – its stock market soared nearly 60% last year – p.e firms are lavishing a lot of their attention on Asia's new crown jewel. Venture capital and p.e. firms are expected to increase the volume of assets in India-dedicated funds by 48% to around US$4 billion this year, according to Kathleen Ng of the Center for Asia Private Equity Research, and last year private equity firms raised US$2.7 billion, which is more than 10 times the amount in 2003. Huge firms such as 3i, The Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts are all heavily active in the country, either opening offices there, hiring additional dedicated staff, and the like. Not to throw cold water on the steamy affair, but there is the unpleasant reality of what often accompanies high valuations. "The Indian market is expensive and there's no room for error," Anil Ahuja, who runs 3i's Indian operations, told Bloomberg News. "People are going to have to be very selective in what they buy or else they are going to run into trouble."