The central government approved additional investment of Rs 30,000 crore for the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). This takes the government’s total commitment to Rs 60,000 crore, which is aimed at accelerating infrastructure development.
New Delhi [भारत]June 30 (ANI): The Union Cabinet has approved additional infusion of Rs 30,000 crore for the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). The move will accelerate infrastructure creation in transport, energy, digital and emerging sectors and catalyze institutional capital. Also, it will further strengthen NIIF’s role as India’s sovereign-anchored investment platform till 2047.
“Last week, the Government of India approved an additional investment commitment of Rs 30,000 crore for new and upcoming funds of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund,” the Finance Ministry said in a release. With this, the total commitment of the Government of India in NIIF has become Rs 60,000 crore.
NIIF: Sovereign Fund of India
NIIF, managed by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited, is a ‘professionally managed sovereign anchored fund of India’ in which the Government of India holds a 49% stake. The release said it ‘currently manages capital commitments of approximately Rs 40,000 crore’ and ‘has returned approximately Rs 12,000 crore to investors through large portfolio exits’.
The fund has attracted leading global investors such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, AustralianSuper, CPP Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, PSP Investments, Temasek, AIIB, NDB, ADB, JBIC, and US DFC, as well as Axis Bank, HDFC Group, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Life, and SBI.
“These investors hail from diverse geographies… reflecting the strong international confidence in India’s growth journey and NIIF’s governance and commercial track record,” the release said.
Plan and focus areas of the new fund
This new commitment from the Government of India will anchor ‘NIIF’s second infrastructure-focused fund’, which is the successor to its earlier Rs 16,000 crore flagship fund, with a ‘target corpus of approximately Rs 30,000 crore’. NIIF Infrastructure Fund II is ‘expected to invest in emerging sectors such as transport, energy, digital infrastructure, and urban infrastructure and e-mobility’.
The allocation will also support new strategies and successor bilateral funds, including the India-Japan Fund focused on climate, circular economy and energy transition.
NIIF’s four strategies – Infrastructure, Private Markets, Growth Equity and Climate Investments – have deployed capital in line with ‘Gati Shakti, Digital India, Make in India, COP commitments and key schemes including FAME and PM e-drive’.
Its Private Markets Fund supports AIFs in climate, affordable housing and healthcare, while the Strategic Opportunities Fund targets financial services, healthcare and manufacturing.
Economic impact and advisory role
In addition to capital, NIIF also provides ‘strategic advice’ to government entities on PPPs and monetization, including support for the Maritime Development Fund and the Research Development and Innovation Fund.
“This current allocation from the government is expected to have a catalytic impact on the economy through investment in the underlying assets and portfolio companies, thereby contributing to high quality infrastructure, employment generation… and self-reliance and the country’s journey to becoming a developed India by 2047,” the release said. (ANI)
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