Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman led the evaluation of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) in New Delhi. Present at the meeting were Dr. Vivek Joshi, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Mr. Rajkiran Rai G, Managing Director of NaBFID, and Deputy Managing Directors Mr. B.S. Venkatesha, Ms. Monika Kalia, and Mr. Samuel Joseph Jebaraj.
Key points from the discussion:
- NaBFID commenced operations with a small team from 12 institutions.
- Operational since December 2022, it has sanctioned over ₹86,804 crore for projects nationwide in various infrastructure sub-sectors.
- Fifty percent of the sanctioned amount has a long tenure of 20 to 50 years.
- NaBFID aims to sanction over ₹3 lakh crore by March 2026.
- Collaborations with multilateral institutions for credit lines, concessional finance, technical assistance, and knowledge sharing are already in progress.
- Partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Transaction Advisory Services to develop investment-ready PPP projects.
- Focus on infrastructure financing to contribute to the goal of Viksit Bharat.
Following the review, Minister Sitharaman advised NaBFID to introduce a structured partial credit enhancement facility to deepen bond markets, create a data repository for the infrastructure sector, and develop sector specialization for evaluating large and complex projects.
About NaBFID: Established in April 2021 by the Government of India, NaBFID is the country’s fifth All India Financial Institution. It supports long-term non-recourse infrastructure financing, bridging the financing gap through innovative instruments. NaBFID has both developmental and financial objectives, with an authorized share capital of ₹1 lakh crore and an initial capital infusion of ₹20,000 crore by the GOI, along with a grant of ₹5,000 crore.
