India is pitching its growth narrative to global investors in a bid to attract fresh capital inflows, even as foreign money exits the market and student protests highlight the challenges posed by its young demographic profile.
According to media reports, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is on a nine-day tour of Canada and the United States, with trade, investment, and economic cooperation topping the agenda. Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is visiting Japan this week, actively promoting India as a "trustworthy" investment destination.
"India is an economy to watch," Sitharaman said in Toronto, adding that global investor participation would ensure "India becomes a growth engine and carries other nations forward with it."
The ministerial trips come just ahead of India's release of its gross domestic product (GDP) data. Markets expect the economy to have grown at a pace of nearly 8% last quarter, and for the fiscal year ending March 2026, India posted growth of 7.7%.
That growth backdrop, however, has not translated into greater enthusiasm for Indian assets. The rupee has failed to stage a meaningful recovery since hitting an all-time low in May, and in a Bank of America survey of fund managers in August, India overtook Indonesia as the least preferred equity market in Asia.
This capital exodus partially explains why Indian ministers have intensified their overseas promotional push this week.
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