''Satisfactory'' that''s the verdict of the country''s top economists who presented their mid year review of the economy. They are impressed with some sectors, but say Lalu Prasad''s railways turnaround story is only a hype, reports CNBC-TV18.

The aviation sector has passed with flying colours in the mid-year review of the Indian economy by leading economists. Even though losses continue to mount, the expert panel believes that Indian aviation will weather the current turbulence.

Sharing top honours with aviation are consistent performers, IT and BPO sectors, which continue to consolidate their growth and profits. But while the economy seems to be running on autopilot, politicians continue to play spoilers.

"It is dissappointing that the politicians think that its business as usual. They are not noticing that India has changed for the better," said Surjit Bhalla of Principal O(x)us Investments.

Surprisingly, the much-talked railways turnaround hasn''t impressed these independent observers. They feel the Lalu Prasad''s miracle is more hype than reality. Even the government flagship programme, The National Rural Employment Scheme, has left them cold. A 2.5-per cent growth in employment, is not good enough, say economists.

The worst performer and perhaps the most controversial is education. Analysts believe further liberalisation is the only way to re-enrgise this sector. Healthcare, and agriculture also remain concern areas for economists. But there is consensus on the fact that the hype about India is real.

So while the politicians get an F- and the overall grade is largely A, the real A+ performer is the individual — the individual farmer, entrepreneur, capitalist and worker. These are the people who drive the 9 per cent growth achieved this year.

Nevertheless, optimism is still intact. Steps taken in infrastructure development, experts believe, will bear fruits within the next 3 or 4 years. On the whole, it is a satisfactory report card and unless there is no great policy or economic reversal, economists believe, we should be on target to match the dragon or even beat it by 2010.