NHAI Launches Public Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) Initiative to Democratize Road Asset Monetization
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Institutions: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) | Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) | Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched Raajmarg Infra Investment Managers Private Limited (RIIMPL), marking a major step toward establishing the Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) as a Public Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT). The goal is to strengthen road asset monetization and expand investment opportunities in the National Highway infrastructure. RIIMPL, which will serve as the Investment Manager for the proposed InvIT, is a collaborative venture with equity participation from leading domestic banks and financial institutions, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and NaBFID.
The Public InvIT initiative is distinct because it aims to unlock the monetization potential of National Highway assets while creating a high-quality, long-term investment product primarily targeting retail and domestic investors. NHAI plans to introduce around 1,500 km of completed and operational National Highways into the Public InvIT over the next 3–5 years, opening substantial avenues for public participation in infrastructure development. This builds upon NHAI’s established monetization record, which includes successfully raising ₹48,995 crore through the Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) model and ₹43,638 crore across four rounds of Private InvITs. The first issuance of InvIT units for the public is expected to be launched in February 2026. RIIMPL is mandated to uphold robust governance standards fully aligned with SEBI’s InvIT regulations, ensuring transparency and investor protection.
This initiative represents a strategic shift in India’s National Monetization Pipeline (NMP), moving beyond institutional and foreign capital to empower domestic and retail investors with high-quality, stable infrastructure assets. It creates a new channel for long-term domestic capital formation, ensuring that the benefits of public asset development are shared with the citizens, and providing a sustainable, debt-light mechanism for continuously funding new highway projects.
What is a Public InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust)?→ An Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is a collective investment vehicle, similar to a mutual fund, that allows individual and institutional investors to directly invest in income-generating infrastructure assets, such as roads or power lines . In a Public InvIT initiative, the units are listed and offered to the general public, democratizing access to stable, long-term returns from government-owned assets that have predictable cash flows (like toll collections). This model enables the public sector (NHAI) to monetize assets and recycle capital into new infrastructure projects.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What specific regulatory measures must SEBI and NHAI implement to ensure the retail InvIT units maintain high liquidity, attract broad domestic participation, and mitigate market volatility risks?
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