Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has pitched for greater Canadian investment in India, saying the country is "creating new gateways for international capital" as she addressed a business reception in Toronto.
"GIFT City, India's International Financial Services Centre, is emerging as a global platform for international financial institutions, supported by a regulatory and tax framework designed specifically for cross-border financial activity," Sitharaman said.
India is also creating new gateways for international capital.
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) August 26, 2026
GIFT City, India's International Financial Services Centre, is emerging as a global platform for international financial institutions, supported by a regulatory and tax framework designed specifically for… pic.twitter.com/5DaBhjAJzb
FM Sitharaman said sectors such as insurance, asset management and pensions are now more open to foreign investment, while India's capital markets have become deeper and more developed. She said this could give Canadian institutional investors more opportunities to use India as a base for wider regional and global financial activity.
She also highlighted India's digital payments network, saying UPI is the world's largest real-time payments system by transaction volume. According to Sitharaman, its growth has helped expand financial inclusion and drive innovation in digital payments.
This is a partnership that is increasingly moving from capital flows to deeper institutional engagement. Capital markets are only one dimension of a modern financial partnership.
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) August 26, 2026
Equally important is the underlying financial infrastructure. India's Unified Payments Interface… pic.twitter.com/5ixf5tKi3h
There was significant scope for collaboration with Canadian banks, fintech firms and regulators in shaping the next generation of digital financial infrastructure, she added. Pointing out sectors such as semiconductors, magnets and rare earths as offering "significant potential" for Canadian investors, and said India could provide "trusted and cost-effective supply-chain alternatives for global markets."
With 100% FDI now permitted in insurance and India's leadership in FinTech at scale, opportunities for capital are expanding rapidly.
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) August 26, 2026
Emerging sectors such as semiconductors, magnets and rare earths offer significant potential for Canadian investors.
India can also provide… pic.twitter.com/WgXyvqV4kD
She invited Canadian investors and rare earth operators to participate more actively in what she called "India's growth story."
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Sitharaman described India as the fastest-growing major economy in the world, citing its scale, young population, expanding consumption and rapidly deepening capital markets as a combination "difficult to match."
She said the country's transformation was structural, driven by rapid urbanisation, a growing middle class and world-class digital infrastructure.
On bilateral ties, she noted that Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mark Carney had agreed to reset India-Canada relations on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in June 2025, a process she said was further advanced during Carney's subsequent visit to India.
She said the relationship was increasingly moving "from capital flows to deeper institutional engagement."
ALSO READ: India, Canada FTA: Third Round Of CEPA Talks Concluded On Proposed Trade Pact
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