NIIF aims to double AUM to $10 bn as it launches new funds: COO Saurabh Jain

Established in 2017, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is India’s premium sovereign-anchored alternate asset manager that aims to catalyse global capital to invest in the country’s infrastructure projects and other assets of national importance. With $4.9 billion assets under management (AUM) across four funds, the NIIF-driven ecosystem has created close to 5.35 lakh jobs through over 75 direct and indirect investments it has made so far.

The institution is now looking to raise capital for two successor funds, including its flagship Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (NIIF Master Fund), to double its AUM in the next 3-4 years. In an exclusive interview with Fortune India, Saurabh Jain, Chief Operating Officer (COO), NIIF, talks more about the institution, its relevance, impact so far and plans for the future

Excerpts:

The concept of NIIF was first announced in the Union Budget 2015-16 as a means to add heft to India’s infrastructure spend by creating an institution with 49% government equity and 51% capital from some of the large, foreign, global institutional investors. Has it lived up to the expectation? What has been the track record so far?

Over the past eight years, NIIF has been focused on building a globally credible, governance-led alternative asset manager. Our journey began with Rs 20,000 crore of anchor capital from the Government of India and a clear mandate to catalyse global institutional capital and deploy it at scale into infrastructure and other sectors of national importance that offer strong commercial returns.

Since starting operations in 2017, we have attracted some of the world’s most sophisticated long-term investors. Our investor base today includes Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Temasek, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), PSP Investments, AustralianSuper, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). We are also backed by multilaterals such as AIIB, ADB and NDB, as well as leading domestic financial institutions including Kotak, HDFC, ICICI and Axis.

Each investor conducted extensive diligence before partnering with us. That level of scrutiny shaped how we built NIIF’s governance framework, reporting architecture, technology systems, and internal controls. Governance-First is a foundational pillar that has enabled some of the world’s largest pools of capital to invest with confidence.

NIIF has established four differentiated investment strategies. Our largest vehicle, the $2.3 billion Sustainable Infrastructure Fund, builds and scales platforms across transportation (ports, logistics, roads, airports), energy (renewables, smart metering), and digital infrastructure (data centres, in-building connectivity). Our $600 million Private Markets Fund invests in high-quality Indian fund managers, supporting their institutionalisation and enabling them to raise larger pools of capital.

Our Growth Equity strategy has created two substantial infrastructure financing NBFCs, invested in a leading healthcare platform at the peak of the pandemic, and supported the early-stage scale-up of a marquee EV two-wheeler company. Most recently, we established our $600 million India–Japan Fund, which invests in climate and energy-transition businesses while strengthening commercial partnerships between Indian and Japanese enterprises.

As of today, NIIF manages $4.9 billion in AUM. We have catalysed more than 11 times the Government’s initial investment, facilitated over Rs 60,000 crore of capital deployment into infrastructure development, and supported the creation of approximately 5.35 lakh jobs across our ecosystem.

As one of NIIF’s first employees, what I am most proud of is the institutional maturity we have achieved. Our operating processes, risk management frameworks, finance and compliance systems, ESG standards, and technology architecture are now aligned with global best practices. This has been a deliberate, multi-year undertaking and continues to be central to NIIF’s evolution.

Can you be more specific about the performance of each fund?

Across our four strategies, NIIF has returned approximately $1.3 billion (around Rs 11,000 crore) to investors through a series of landmark exits. For a relatively young institution, this track record is particularly meaningful. It reflects not only investment performance but also the depth of governance, operating discipline, financial controls and ESG standards embedded in our portfolio companies.

Within our Infrastructure strategy, we executed two major monetisations: the sale of Ayana, our renewable energy platform, and the exit from three road assets held under Athaang. Together, these transactions represented an enterprise value of roughly $3 billion. In the funds business, distribution to paid-in capital (DPI) is one of the key measures of performance.  The cash returned from these deals translates into a DPI of close to 50%. For an infrastructure fund still in its harvesting phase, reaching the 50% DPI threshold is a significant marker of disciplined, early-value realisation.

Our Private Markets strategy has also begun returning capital, driven initially by distributions from an investment in an affordable housing credit fund. DPI for this fund now stands at more than 30%. Given that this is a multi-manager strategy where cash flows rely on underlying portfolio funds’ exits, these early distributions reflect strong manager selection and the institutional-grade systems we have helped build across these fund managers.

In our Growth Equity strategy, we delivered two notable exits: Manipal Hospitals—one of the largest private equity exits in Indian healthcare—and a partial exit from Ather Energy through its IPO and a subsequent block trade. The DPI for this strategy now exceeds 75%, a testament to both underlying value creation and the efficiency with which capital has been returned to investors.

NIIF’s India–Japan Fund remains in its deployment phase, with the current focus on disciplined investment pacing, ESG integration, risk management, and maintaining the high governance standards expected by our Japanese partners. Distributions from this strategy will naturally follow later in the fund cycle.

Across strategies, the common thread is that outcomes flow from governance, investment discipline and a long-term approach to building institutional quality businesses. Our work in helping portfolio companies strengthen business processes and management teams, institutionalise ESG practices, and elevate governance frameworks is translating into tangible results. NIIF’s investment also provides comfort to lenders, strategic partners and operating stakeholders. This is why we are seeing these companies emerge as attractive opportunities for large institutional investors.

What's next?

We are now preparing to raise a $3.5 billion successor to our flagship Sustainable Infrastructure Fund, complemented by a $1 billion co-investment sleeve for investors seeking to deploy larger pools of capital alongside us. Given the track record we have established in deployment, platform building and timely exits, we are confident that many of our existing investors will participate in this new fund.

Several of them sit on our board and have observed our processes, governance culture and investment discipline first-hand. While investment always carries inherent risk, the consistency with which we invest, monitor and manage assets continues to reinforce investor confidence.

In parallel, we are raising the next vintage of our Private Markets strategy, targeted at about $1 billion, with a first close expected shortly. Here too, participation from existing investors underscores the credibility and momentum of this strategy.

Together, these two funds mark the next phase of NIIF’s expansion and are expected to take our AUM to approximately $10 billion.

Successor funds of this scale introduce a new level of operational sophistication—from onboarding global LPs and administering larger co-investment pools, to coordinating with a broader ecosystem of advisors, custodians, auditors and banking partners. For us, this next chapter is about ensuring that the institutional “plumbing” behind the scenes—finance systems, controls, technology infrastructure, risk frameworks and compliance architecture—scales seamlessly to support this growth without compromising the standards our LPs expect.

To that end, NIIF continues to invest deeply in its governance stack, global business applications and ERP systems; information security aligned with ISO 27001; ESG frameworks benchmarked to global best practices; and measured adoption of AI. It is this operating backbone that positions NIIF to scale responsibly and credibly in its next phase of growth.

How do you balance the development agenda and commercial interests while investing in a project?

At NIIF, balancing development and commercial objectives is a governance-led investment philosophy. Our mandate requires us to deploy capital into sectors of national significance while delivering competitive, risk-adjusted returns to global institutional investors. The way we reconcile these dual objectives is by embedding strong governance standards at the very inception of every investment decision. What truly differentiates NIIF is the way we triangulate development goals and commercial performance through a foundation of rigorous, institutional-grade governance.

For us, governance is the primary filter through which we evaluate whether a project can truly scale, attract investors, and eventually be monetised. In development-focused sectors, like renewables, transport, digital infrastructure, and climate-transition businesses, projects often begin with strong policy intent but require rigorous institutionalisation to become bankable, sustainable and investor-ready. That institutionalisation is NIIF’s core value addition.

We start by assessing whether a platform or project can be built on governance systems that mirror global norms: transparent reporting, predictable cash-flow management, ESG integration, robust audit processes, prudent risk frameworks, and a professionalised management team empowered by an independent board. When these foundations exist or can be created, developmental projects become commercially attractive, drawing long-term capital and supporting broader economic outcomes without compromising returns.

This governance-first approach has shaped how we constructed our infrastructure platforms in renewable energy, ports, airports and digital infrastructure. By strengthening business processes, embedding environmental and social safeguards, formalising compliance, and hardwiring risk controls, we have converted early-stage development assets into high-quality platforms that global investors are comfortable acquiring. Our recent exits in renewables, roads and healthcare are examples of how governance turns developmental intent into commercial performance.

For our investors, governance is often the deciding factor. It reduces risk, improves operational quality and enhances long-term value. For NIIF, it is not a compliance exercise. It is how we align national priorities with investor expectations and build businesses that are both impactful and commercially successful.

How do you differentiate yourself when it comes to value creation?

I believe deeply that “values” create value. At NIIF, this conviction shapes every investment decision we make. When we commit capital to a business, our objective is not limited to generating financial returns. We invest with a clear set of institutional values—anchored in strong governance, business sustainability, health and safety practices, environmental stewardship, organisational culture, ethics and integrity.

Our multi-tier investment committee process, comprehensive risk frameworks and extensive diligence conducted by leading advisors and legal experts help us identify core business risks and growth levers early in the cycle.

Our values are operating disciplines that become embedded in our portfolio companies.

Once we invest, we take a hands-on, institutional approach to strengthening each portfolio company. We focus heavily on management quality and performance KPIs, governance standards, the independence and effectiveness of the board and its committees, the credibility of auditors, the robustness of IT and reporting systems, and the integration of ESG principles. Over time, this approach translates into tangible financial value for our investors and contributes to the creation of large, resilient and sustainable businesses for the country.

At the NIIF level, investment risks, business performance and progress on value creation plans are reviewed regularly. Outcomes are measured against the original underwriting thesis, and strategic direction is provided to management teams to ensure disciplined execution. Portfolio valuations are conducted by independent, credible valuers, with rigorous stress-testing of growth assumptions and validation of risk milestones. This level of scrutiny and transparency is central to maintaining investor confidence and ensuring alignment with the standards expected by global LPs.

On a personal note, representing NIIF on the boards of several portfolio companies has given me a first-hand view of how this operating architecture translates into real outcomes—how management teams make decisions, how risks are escalated, how compliance is institutionalised and how value creation plans are executed on the ground.

The values we embed in our portfolio companies also provide significant comfort to lenders, strategic partners and operating stakeholders. They see NIIF’s involvement as a signal of institutional quality, governance discipline and long-term commitment.

As NIIF enters its next phase, with larger funds, more complex investment structures, a broader LP base and rising expectations, we will continue to deploy capital responsibly, manage risk consistently and deliver outcomes that meet the standards of the world’s most sophisticated investors. India’s growth story presents an extraordinary opportunity, and NIIF aims to serve as a trusted, governance-led gateway for global capital seeking to participate in that opportunity over the long term.