The Indian tiger is on the prowl and its roar is beckoning all to join in the hunt.

As the Indian economy touches new heights, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are returning to the country to establish start-ups. Driven by idealism, market forces and family ties in India, coupled with lackluster economic conditions in the United States, 30-somethings are taking the plunge and heading to risky, entrepreneurial waters, say venture capitalists (VC) and industry insiders. Hot on their heels, VCs are poised to infuse quite a stash of greenbacks in the subcontinent this year.

Sandesh Patnam, interim CFO at Silicon Valley-based Bay Partners, says that Bay tested the waters for several years in India to identify opportunities beyond outsourcing. “A lot of times we walked away from business plans because we didn’t think the domestic market was large enough,” he claims. “Now we are close to making investments in two companies that were started by Indian entrepreneurs who were abroad but have gone back. Both are focused on the Indian market.”

One of the start-ups, located in Bangalore, provides Wi-Fi in multi-tenant and commercial units. “India’s finally got the buying power in tier-2 cities to consume these kind of services,” Patnam says. “It’s now becoming more realistic to build a company in India for the Indian market.”

Another Silicon Valley-based VC, KPCB, is also eyeing India and will invest in around three early-stage start-ups this year. “We are out there in the forefront when it comes to investing in companies which are made in India for the domestic consumer,” points out Ajit Nazre, general partner.

While services-based companies continue to dominate the landscape, more product-based companies will soon begin to emerge from India, says Massachusetts-based Deepak Kamra, general partner at Canaan Venture Partners, which has an office in Gurgaon. “So far, it’s been disappointing, though,” he claims.

U.S.- and Israel-based Battery Ventures is poised to set up an office in Mumbai this year. “Over the last five years, we’ve been building an investment program there which has been very successful for us. So last month we hired a partner to go into India,” adds Neeraj Agarwal, general partner.