The expanding infrastructure sector in India is attracting attention of global investors today. From pension funds in Canada to provident funds across the world, all are looking to park their long-term funds in the Indian infrastructure sector. One of the big triggers for this change was the announcement of National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) in 2019. It was designed with an intention to improve project preparation and attract investments (both domestic and foreign) into infrastructure, enabling the country to become a $5 trillion economy by FY25. NIP comprises brownfield and greenfield infrastructure projects of above Rs.1 billion across both economic and social infrastructure. NIP is a first-of-its-kind initiative to provide world-class infrastructure across the country and improve the quality of life for all citizens. According to the Union Finance Ministry, NIP, which was launched with 6,835 projects, has expanded to capture over 9,288 projects with a total outlay of Rs.108.88 trillion between 2020-25. NIP was followed by a National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) giving the fillip to the possibility of asset churning by bringing back more capital. Financing has been one of the Achilles heels in the infrastructure story which has punctured the country's growth many times. As infrastructure projects have long gestation period, financing is very critical. Hence, in the FY22 Budget, the government announced the NMP plan to raise Rs.6.6 trillion by FY25. Considering the huge size of the infrastructure financing market, it needs to attract both debt and equity capital. The size of infrastructure lending market for PPP/private sector projects in FY 2024 is estimated at $ 32 billion, with banks/NBFCs expected to finance $ 20 billion. The balance $ 12 billion would need to be raised from other sources including pension/ provident/insurance/sovereign funds, private credit, etc. With the government emphasising on capital recycling through capex outlay and parallel monetization plans for infrastructure development, InvITs (infrastructure investment trusts) are gaining traction as yields from InvITs have shown continued uptick and resilience during volatile market condition. For example, in the road sector, AUM (assets under management) crossed more than Rs.1 trillion with InvITs emerging as preferred holding structure. InvIT, conceptually like mutual funds, raises capital to invest in income-generating assets like highways, power transmission, etc. While developers have set up their own InvITs, but, of late, financial institute driven InvITs are raising lot of capital. The Ministry of Roads Transport & Highways has been trying to reduce the debt burden of the National Highways Authority of India which has now run into Rs.3.4 trillion. Its asset monetization efforts have brought in Rs.100 billion but a lot more is yet to come. Can NHAI InvITs pave the way for retail investment too? As outlined in the recently adopted Vision India 2047 document, between FY24 and FY30, India is set to channel Rs.143 trillion into infrastructure projects, more than double the Rs.67 trillion expended in the preceding seven financial years. This surge in investment is anticipated to predominantly target sectors such as roads and power, with nascent areas like electric vehicles, solar, wind, and hydrogen also gaining momentum. India's infrastructure surge has been a story of transformation, resilience, and foresight. As the country's infrastructure growth story hinges on addressing funding and financing challenges, establishing a strong funding narrative is crucial to attract private capital (domestic or foreign) to build the future.