he NIIF was set up in December 2015 as a Category-II Alternate Investment Fund. NIIF chief executive Sujoy Bose, however, was appointed in only June 2016 and the senior management of the fund was also put in place by early 2017.

After a slow start, fund-raising by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has gained some momentum of late. However, close to five years after its inception, the quasi-sovereign wealth fund is yet to develop into a large enough financing vehicle to be able to meaningfully anchor the government’s ambitious investment plans under the Rs 111-lakh-crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).

A spokesperson with NIIF told media it manages assets of $4.3 billion across its three funds. Much of NIIF’s fund-raising and investments have materialised only after 2018. Its Master Fund has now drawn investment commitments of $2.1 billion from investors. The Master Fund focuses mainly on core infrastructure and operating assets, The Fund of Funds, which focuses on sectors such as green energy, affordable and mid-income housing, social infrastructure, manufacturing and logistics, has received $700 million in commitments — $500 million from the government and $100 million each from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Asian Development Bank. It’s $300 million short of its $1-billion target.

(With inputs from agencies)