India needs $1 trn InvIT-REIT market to achieve $30 trn economy by 2047: Amitabh Kant

Amitabh Kant, former G20 Sherpa and former CEO of NITI Aayog, on Friday said India must rapidly scale its Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) ecosystem if it hopes to meet its long-term growth ambitions.

Speaking at the National Conclave on REITs and InvITs 2025 in New Delhi, Amitabh Kant said that for India, a $4 trillion economy today, to grow into a $30-plus trillion economy by 2047, it must rapidly scale its InvIT–REIT ecosystem to at least $1 trillion.

He explained that reaching this scale will require a massive, multi-sector pipeline: $250 billion from power transmission and renewables, $200 billion from roads, $150 billion from logistics and digital infrastructure, $200 billion from urban utilities and metro systems, and another $200 billion from commercial real estate and brownfield portfolios.

He said India’s next phase of growth will depend heavily on the effective use of REITs and InvITs, backed strongly by Sebi and government ministries.

“I firmly believe the next phase of India’s growth will depend on how effectively we mobilse long-term capital and how boldly we use innovative financing instruments such as REITs and InvITs — backed decisively by Sebi and all government ministries,” he said.

Globally, these instruments already form a $4 trillion market led by the U.S., Germany and Japan. Given India’s scale and growth potential, Kant said, the country “should be leading this space,” adding that while mature markets are already “bread,” India “still has to be fed.”

India currently has 27 registered InvITs across nine sectors with an AUM of about ₹7 lakh crore (around $81 billion). Kant said this is “minuscule” when viewed against the country’s infrastructure needs. “Our target should be $1 trillion — about ₹90 lakh crore — which is 13–15 times where we stand today,” he said.

Kant also flagged the limited participation of public-sector undertakings. Only two of India’s 27 InvITs are sponsored by the public sector, even though 70–75% of the nation’s infrastructure is publicly owned. “Entities such as NHAI and Power Grid should be rolling out InvITs and REITs at scale. NHAI has done well in expanding and scaling its InvIT offerings, but Power Grid has not added assets at the same pace.”

He added that public-sector sponsors try to retain operational control after forming InvITs, restricting price discovery and weakening governance. Once assets move into an InvIT, management must be fully independent, he emphasised.

In several cases, public-sector entities try to retain operational control even after forming InvITs — limiting price discovery and weakening governance, he said. “Once assets move into an InvIT, management must be fully independent. Public sector sponsors must appoint independent investment managers and avoid controlling both buyer and seller, which dilutes governance and investor trust.”

According to Kant, the real constraint is not capital, with nearly $300 trillion available globally, but the shortage of well-prepared assets and efficient trust structures. “The shortage is in well-prepared assets and efficient InvIT/REIT structures.”

Kant further said that states also need to adopt time-bound monetisation frameworks and build InvIT/REIT pipelines across transport, logistics, power and tourism. Municipal bodies should pool assets such as metro stations, water plants, terminals and parking structures into city-level REITs and InvITs to attract long-term capital and strengthen urban governance.

Kant noted that InvITs have helped reduce financing costs by raising funds at competitive rates and retiring expensive debt, creating dependable infrastructure-linked securities and deepening India’s capital markets.