Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday chaired the first meeting of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), announced by him while presenting Budget 2015-16 on 28 February, 2015.
The NIIF was formed to fund infrastructure projects by seeking investment from sovereign funds abroad, in addition to participation by private players and cash-rich public-sector companies.
After the meeting, Jaitley told reporters many countries have evinced interest in investing in the NIIF, for which the Narednra Modi government has committed an annual allocation of Rs 20,000 crore.
"The progress with regard to the proposals of sovereign funds from the UAE, the UK (Britain) and Russia were particularly discussed, including the expressions of interest from other countries," Jaitley was quoted as saying by IANS.
"We will meet again in March to review the progress on each of these funds that intend to invest in NIIF," he added.
The NIIF was created to fund commercially viable projects — both greenfield and brownfield — including stalled projects.
The six-member Governing Council that met in New Delhi on 29 December includes Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairperson, State Bank of India, Hemendar Kothari, investment banker and former Infosys CFO T V Mohandas Pai, besides senior bureaucrats from the Finance Ministry.
The NIIF was registered with SEBI as Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) on 28 December, 2015.
The Governing Council also reviewed the progress made in talks with soverign wealth funds and pension funds of Singapore, besides the UAE, Russia and the UK, said the Finance Ministry in a statement.
The Modi government is driving investments in infrastructure, given the slow response from the private sector. The infra push is in tandem with its "Make in India" initiative launched last September to drive economic growth in India, the fastest-growing economy in the world.
India is expected to grow at a higher clip than China, according to the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook.
