NIIF: India's sovereign-anchored platform managing US$4.4B+ across three funds

The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is India's sovereign-anchored investment platform — a collaborative vehicle through which the Government of India and global institutional investors channel capital into the country's infrastructure and growth story.

Investment thesis

NIIF was set up to provide long-term capital to commercially viable greenfield, brownfield and stalled projects, and has grown into a full-spectrum alternative assets manager investing across infrastructure, private equity and climate. The bet: India's infrastructure deficit and consumption growth create durable, commercially attractive opportunities that patient, sovereign-anchored capital can unlock. The platform invests through equity and structured debt, building or backing industry leaders across transportation, energy, urban infrastructure, renewables, healthcare and technology.

Funds and investment approach

NIIF Limited manages more than US$4.4 billion of equity capital commitments across three funds. The NIIF Master Fund invests in operating assets in core infrastructure sectors such as transportation, energy and urban infrastructure, and reached a final close of US$2.34 billion — India's largest infrastructure fund. The NIIF Fund of Funds backs best-in-class Indian fund managers investing in climate infrastructure, middle-income and affordable housing, digital consumer platforms and allied sectors. The NIIF Strategic Opportunities Fund is a private equity fund that builds scalable businesses in sectors that are opportunity-long but capital-short. NIIF also runs the India-Japan Fund, which invests in businesses focused on environmental preservation and promotes collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies.

Notable portfolio

NIIF's exits are the headline. It built Ayana Renewable Power into a leading renewable platform and in February 2025 sold 100% of it to ONGC NTPC Green Private Limited at an enterprise value of INR 195 billion (US$2.3 billion). In healthcare, NIIF invested more than US$250 million in Manipal Hospitals and exited in what it describes as the top private equity exit of 2023, booking profits of INR 1,046 crore (about US$125 million). In electric mobility it backed Ather Energy (more than US$45 million directly, plus US$70 million via the India-Japan Fund), invested US$48 million in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility, and in October 2025 committed INR 500 crore (about US$57 million) to EKA Mobility. Its debt-financing business — NIIF Infrastructure Finance Limited and Aseem Infrastructure Finance Limited — carries a combined loan book of more than US$4 billion, over half in renewables and green assets, with nil gross NPAs.

People

Founding CEO Sujoy Bose led NIIF from 2016 to 2023; in May 2023 Rajiv Dhar, previously executive director and COO, became CEO and managing director on an interim basis.

Programmes, credits and perks

NIIF does not run a startup accelerator. Its ecosystem "programme" is the NIIF Fund of Funds, which anchors Indian fund managers — including US$80 million+ to Vixar Fund I, US$15 million+ to YourNest Fund III, and US$100 million+ to HDFC Capital Advisors' affordable-housing fund.

How to engage

NIIF invests at scale — infrastructure assets, growth-equity cheques and fund commitments. Founders typically reach its teams through bankers, co-invest partners or the fund managers in its Fund of Funds network; emerging fund managers seeking an anchor can approach the Fund of Funds team directly.