More than 1,000 companies are already engaged in business in the Indian market

The Canadian business community got a first-hand perspective of the opportunities to invest in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcased the country as an attractive destination while delivering the keynote address at the Invest India 2020 Conference on Thursday.

The conference witnessed participation of representatives from banks and insurance companies, investment funds, companies in sectors like aviation, electronics and manufacturing, consultant firms and universities.

The event addressed by PM Modi is being seen as an important initiative to further boost trade and business ties between India and Canada.

As per the Indian High Commission in Canada, in 2019-20, US$ 6.73 billion worth of trade in goods took place between the two sides. The bilateral trade in services in 2019 was US $ 3.10 billion.

Giving an insight into today's discussions at Invest India 2020, India's High Commissioner to Canada Ajay Bisaria said on Twitter that India's growth towards a $ 5 trillion economy offered huge manufacturing opportunities to Canadian companies. Indian companies had the opportunity to access the entire North American market from Canada.



Canadian Pension Funds have cumulatively pledged to invest around US $ 50 billion as investment in India till now and are increasingly viewing India as an attractive destination for investments.

More than 400 Canadian companies have a presence in India, and more than 1,000 companies are actively pursuing business in the Indian market. Indian companies in Canada are active in fields such as Information Technology, software, steel, natural resources and banking sectors.

Top Indian companies which have invested in Canada include ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Mahindra Tractors, Tata Steel Minerals Canada, Tata Consultancy Services, Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Communications, Zee Group, Aditya Birla Group, Jubilant Life Sciences, Infosys Technologies Limited, Tech Mahindra, ESSAR Steel Algoma Inc., IFFCO Canada Enterprise Ltd., Abellon Energy Inc., Wipro Technologies,Prime Focus World and Polaris Financial Technologies.

Major items of India's exports to Canada include gems, jewelry and precious stones, pharmaceutical products, ready-made garments, mechanical appliances, organic chemicals, light engineering goods, iron & steel articles, etc. India’s imports from Canada include pulses, roots & tubers, newsprint, wood pulp, asbestos, potash, iron scrap, copper, minerals, industrial chemicals and others.