Asia’s emerging wealthy elite don’t have a wide reputation for giving to charity, but new data shows they have not been getting the credit they deserve.

India this week become the first BRIC country to be ranked a major donor by Save the Children, reflecting widening philanthropy in the world’s fastest growing economy after China. It is now on a par with donors like Italy, Germany, Romania and South Korea.

International non-governmental organisations are registering the highest growth of donors anywhere in the world among growing Asian economies.

“There used to be the days when the west always led, but now it’s being taken on by Asian countries,” said Anand Joshua, head of marketing channels at Chennai-based World Vision India.

World Vision, Greenpeace and Oxfam are bringing on board tens of thousands of new individual donors with internet and telephone campaigns.

“Asian countries did the best last year. India, Malaysia, Thailand and (South) Korea. These are the ones leading now,” Joshua said.

New Philanthropy Capital, a London-based organisation that offers guidance for donors and charities, said global NGOs and some UN agencies had prepared for as much as a 20 per cent fall in income last year.

But large NGOs say the global economic downturn has had no impact on their fund raising in countries like India, whereas government and corporate commitments were hard hit in the west. World Vision recorded a 45 per cent increase in donations last year from India and expects similar growth in 2010.

Save the Children, which operates in 120 countries, awarded India “stronger member” status after its Indian donors grew to 50,000 donors from 3,000 two years ago and contributed more than $11m last year.

Activists expect that wealth creation and high levels of economic growth in Asia will yield a new generation of philanthropists, particularly in the financial services and technology sectors.

“What Bill Gates [of Microsoft] has done [in philanthropy], we will see that in India,” said Bradley C. Palmer, the managing partner of US-based investment firm Palm Ventures and a director of Save the Children’s international board.

As more philanthropists are added to Asia’s rich list the question now is whether this new-found interest in charity will extend to the issues that deserve attention in their own countries.