Senior business executives in India are rapidly transforming their country – and many companies based there – from an outsource economy to a major global competitor.

“The appeal of the Indian executive has moved to a higher level and it’s no longer just about cost advantage,” says Chris Clarke, president and CEO of Boyden World Corporation, which has been in the business of global executive search for more than 60 years.

“Their education, business acumen and the rise in the quality of Indian management are impressive,” Clarke adds. “Today multinationals seeking to recruit Indian executives face a new challenge in that it’s not a foregone conclusion that they will leap at an offer outside India.”

Clarke’s comments highlight some of the findings of the global search firm’s recent analysis of the growing talent issues in emerging markets such as India.

If anyone need further convincing that the Asia-Pacific Rim indeed represents the new front in the global war for talent, they need only consider the fact that 464 of the Fortune 500 currently do business in China and that five of the 10 largest companies by market capitalization worldwide are Chinese.

Considering the growth and hiring activity taking place in some of the world’s key emerging markets, one may begin to see why many of the world’s corporate executive staffing leaders are spending much of their time these days in Hong Kong and deep in the rich recruiting grounds of other booming Asian economies.

One of them is Peter Wright, who, until recently, was vice president of human resources for the 73,000 people who make up the refining and marketing division of energy and natural resources giant BP, plc.

Wright says that corporate talent management leaders would be wise to adopt a systematic approach to their executive-level recruiting process, because it can have “a profound effect on both the performance and profitability of your business.”

There’s no time like the present to implement strategies to help secure your current position—while keeping an eye on the future.

Economic uncertainty has grown stronger, leaving many fearful about their jobs, career, future. As evidenced by ExecuNet’s January survey of 238 executive recruiters, fewer than half (47 percent) are confident in the executive employment market through the first half of the year, down from 59 percent at the close of 2007.

Economy-watchers have responded to the worries, and a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, How to Recession-Proof Your Career, points to preparation as the key to professional survival, advising workers to update their résumés and stay connected to their networks.