India’s real GDP grew 7.8 per cent in the April–June quarter this year, beating estimates and confirming India as the world’s fastest-growing large economy.
Surging private investment, high exports, and an uptick in domestic consumption powered the growth. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on social media that "doomsayers were doomed and India bloomed… yet again!"
Across Asia, the only two economies to post higher growth from April–June were Taiwan (12.92%) and Vietnam (8.4%). Year over year, Malaysia (6.0%), Indonesia (5.3%), China (4.3%), South Korea (3.7%), the Philippines (2.3%), and Japan (0.7%) all came in lower.
New Delhi’s glowing growth figures dropped just days after Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman landed in Canada. She met with her Canadian counterpart, François-Philippe Champagne, and the heads of at least seven Canadian pension funds, financial services companies, and banks, telling them that “India is open” and “Canadian capital is welcome.”
In Toronto, Champagne and Sitharaman convened the first-ever Canada–India Finance Ministers’ Economic and Financial Dialogue. Sitharaman expressed a “readiness to initiate negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Treaty” as soon as possible, according to Ottawa. Both ministers agreed to help expand payment systems, which will aid Canadian businesses in accessing India’s market.
Pension funds power investment
Our Senior Program Manager, International Trade & Investment, Anastasia Ufimtseva, told Asia Watch that APF Canada Investment Monitor data indicate that, in 2025, Canada–India two-way foreign direct investment (FDI) increased to C$2.5 billion, a 30 per cent increase compared to 2024.
Canadian investment in India — totalling C$2.2 billion in 2025 — accounted for the vast majority of this figure.
Ufimtseva noted that “pension funds accounted for 58 per cent of Canada’s FDI in India,” led by investments from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which acquired industrial and logistics parks in India for just under C$600 million, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, which invested C$347 million in National Highways Infra Trust.
“At the subnational level,” she added, “Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Delhi were among the top 10 Indo-Pacific destinations for Canadian FDI.”
Although U.S. tariffs may put a damper on the upcoming Canada Investment Summit, running September 14–15 in Toronto, Ottawa is looking to build on a banner year for FDI into Canada, which hit C$96.8 billion in 2025, according to Statistics Canada.
Former Canadian ambassador to China Dominic Barton was recently appointed as board chair of Invest in Canada, the organization convening the summit. Barton’s appointment, expertise, and connections may indicate Ottawa is prioritizing Indo-Pacific investment over further integration with the U.S.
