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The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has proposed the creation of a sovereign-backed financing platform that can help achieve long-term growth ambitions of Asia's second-biggest economy.The proposed India Development and Strategic Fund (IDSF), a professionally managed institution, would mobilise patient, long-horizon capital to build India's domestic productive capacity while securing critical economic interests overseas."India is entering a decisive window of opportunity. We are already among the world's largest economies, but to reach developed-economy status by 2047 we need structural, perpetual sources of long-term capital that go beyond the annual budget cycle," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII. The proposal acknowledges that India's growth ambitions across infrastructure, energy transition, manufacturing, technology, and human development require funding far beyond what the annual budgetary allocations can provide. The IDSF would help mobilise domestic and global savings and recycle national capital from mature assets into new productive capacity. "This is not about more borrowing. It is about better capital structuring, recycling our existing national strength into future assets instead of one-time fiscal use," said Banerjee.Live Events The Fund will have two coordinated arms: a developmental investment arm and a strategic investment arm. The first arm will focus on financing long-term domestic priorities such as infrastructure, clean energy, logistics, industrial corridors, MSME growth, education, healthcare and urban development. The industry body has suggested involving the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) into this arm. On the other hand, the second arm will focus on acquiring overseas assets crucial for India's economic and security interests, including energy fields, critical minerals, frontier technologies like semiconductors and AI. "In a world where energy, minerals, technology and logistics are increasingly securitised, economic and strategic policy are now part of the same continuum," said Banerjee. The industry body has called for a IDSF Act, defining Fund's mandate, capital sources, withdrawal norms, and disclosure rules. While the government would retain majority ownership and strategic control, the Fund would be managed by a professional board comprising senior government representatives and global investment experts. CII estimates that IDSF could build a managed corpus of $1.3-2.6 trillion by 2047, comparable in ambition and credibility to the world's leading sovereign investors. The capitalisation roadmap includes an initial budgetary allocation to establish credibility, followed by systematic channelling of asset monetisation proceeds from roads, transmission lines, ports, and spectrum into the Fund rather than using them solely for deficit reduction. Over time, a portion of the government's equity in select public sector enterprises could be transferred to the Fund, transforming them into strategic instruments for India's global expansion rather than disinvestment. The Fund could also issue infrastructure, green and diaspora bonds to attract long-term domestic and international savings, co-invest with multilateral and bilateral partners, and, in time, use a small portion of India's foreign exchange reserves for strategic overseas acquisitions in areas like critical minerals and energy.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onIndia Development and Strategic FundConfederation of Indian Industryeconomic growth Indiainfrastructure investmentpatient capital (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onIndia Development and Strategic FundConfederation of Indian Industryeconomic growth Indiainfrastructure investmentpatient capital(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless Prime ExclusivesInvestment IdeasStock Report PlusePaperWealth Edition123View all Stories
