NEW DELHI, June 29: The Union Cabinet has approved an additional investment commitment of ₹30,000 crore to the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), doubling the Centre’s total commitment to ₹60,000 crore to accelerate infrastructure development and mobilise institutional capital for nationally important projects.
The decision, approved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is aimed at strengthening investments in infrastructure and other priority sectors while supporting the next phase of NIIF’s expansion.
The additional allocation will be used to establish NIIF’s second infrastructure-focused fund, which will succeed its flagship infrastructure fund. The proposed NIIF Infrastructure Fund II will target a corpus of around Rs30,000 crore and invest in sectors such as transportation, energy, digital infrastructure, urban infrastructure and e-mobility. The government said part of the allocation would also support new investment strategies and successor bilateral and strategic funds.
NIIF, India’s sovereign-anchored investment fund, currently manages capital commitments of around Rs40,000 crore across its various funds and investment platforms. The government holds a 49 per cent stake in NIIF, which has returned nearly Rs12,000 crore to investors through major portfolio exits.
The fund has attracted investments from leading global sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, multilateral institutions and domestic financial institutions, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Temasek, CPP Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Group and Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance.
According to the government, NIIF’s investment platforms have deployed capital across transportation, renewable energy, digital infrastructure, healthcare, affordable housing, manufacturing, electric mobility and technology sectors in several states and Union Territories. These investments support national initiatives such as Gati Shakti, Digital India, Make in India, FAME, PM E-DRIVE and India’s climate commitments.
Apart from investing capital, NIIF also advises the Centre and state governments on public-private partnership projects, infrastructure financing and asset monetisation. It has provided strategic inputs for initiatives such as the Maritime Development Fund and the Research Development and Innovation Fund.
The government said the additional Rs30,000 crore commitment is expected to catalyse private investment, create employment, strengthen high-quality infrastructure and support India’s long-term goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
