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National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)

Kumari Sonali

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF):

The Union Cabinet recently approved an additional Government of India’s investment commitment of Rs. 30,000 crore towards new and upcoming funds of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.

  • National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is a fund created by the Government of India for enhancing infrastructure financing in the country.
  • It is India’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund (SWF).
  • NIIF got registered with SEBI as Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) in 2015.
  • It is a collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors with a mandate to invest equity capital in domestic infrastructure.
  • NIIF invests across asset classes such as infrastructure, private equity, and other diversified sectors in India, with the objective of generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors.
  • It invests in greenfield (new), brownfield (existing), and stalled projects.
  • NIIF is 49% owned by the Indian government and has more than $5 billion in assets under management, making it the country’s biggest infrastructure fund.
  • NIIF benefits from its association with the Government yet is independent in its investment decisions.
  • It is professionally run and managed by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL).
  • Over the years, NIIF has attracted investments from leading global sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, multilateral development institutions, and domestic financial institutions.
  • Currently, there are four funds under the NIIF Umbrella.
    • NIIF Master Fund: This fund primarily invests in infra-related projects such as roads, ports, airports, and power. It is the largest infrastructure fund in India.
    • NIIF Private Markets Fund: Invests in funds managed by third-party managers in infrastructure and associated sectors.
    • NIIF Strategic Opportunities Fund: It invests and develops large-scale businesses and greenfield projects that are of strategic importance to the country.
    • India-Japan Fund:
      • NIIF’s first bilateral fund invests in environment preservation in India.
      • It also seeks to enable opportunities for collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies in India.
      • The Fund has a target corpus of US$600 million, with the Government of India contributing 49% and the remaining 51% contributed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, a policy-based financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Japan.