Priyanka,
In my opinion, domain knowledge/vertical industry knowledge is NOT what is most relevant in an analyst. When I interview and hire analysts I look for strong analytical skills and knowledge of various methodologies and industry best practices. The thought is that if you have a strong analyst, they will pick up the domain knowledge as the go. A good analyst needs to be able to extract requirements from areas they know nothing about. That’s why we talk to subject matter experts.
Granted domain knowledge is a benefit most of the time (though I have seen it be a hindrance since many analyst “think” they know the domain and make poor assumptions that they don’t verify), but its not a requirement for me.
With that said, pharmaceuticals/healthcare will continue to be a very hot industry for the next 10-20 years in my opinion. I also think banking/financial services will always be strong over the long run, though in the short term they are having a slump like everyone else.