NaBFID: National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development

Parliament passed NaBFID’s founding law in under a week, in March 2021. The bank did not disburse its first loan until December 2022.

Timeline

• 28 March 2021: The NaBFID Act, 2021 receives Presidential assent, after Lok Sabha passes it on 23 March 2021.
• 19 April 2021: The Act comes into force, setting up NaBFID as India’s fifth All India Financial Institution.
• December 2022: NaBFID begins lending operations, months after Rajkiran Rai G takes charge as its first MD and CEO.
• 2025-2026: NaBFID crosses Rs 1 trillion in total assets, and raises its first foreign-currency loan.

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Indian Economy · IndEco0232

NaBFID

National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development

28 Mar 2021

The NaBFID Act, 2021 receives Presidential assent.

19 Apr 2021

The Act comes into force; NaBFID becomes India’s 5th AIFI.

Dec 2022

NaBFID begins lending, under its first MD and CEO.

2025-26

Assets cross Rs 1 trillion; first foreign-currency loan raised.

From Zero Loans to a Trillion-Rupee Book

NaBFID took nearly two years after its founding law to make its first loan. By December 2025, its total assets had grown 44% in a single year, to over Rs 1 trillion.

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Must Know

• NaBFID stands for the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development.
• It was set up under the NaBFID Act, 2021, which received Presidential assent on 28 March 2021.
• NaBFID is India’s fifth All India Financial Institution, and is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.
• Its core role is long-term financing for infrastructure, including loans of longer tenor than most commercial banks offer.
• NaBFID is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Good to Know

• NaBFID is a Development Finance Institution, a model revived after IDBI and ICICI moved away from pure development banking.
• The Government of India initially infused Rs 20,000 crore, as NaBFID’s share capital.
• Rajkiran Rai G, former MD and CEO of Union Bank of India, took charge as NaBFID’s first MD and CEO on 8 August 2022.
• NaBFID began its lending operations in December 2022.
• Besides direct loans, NaBFID also supports blended finance, partial credit enhancement, and takeout financing, for infrastructure projects.
• NaBFID lends as a Development Finance Institution. NIIF, a separate quasi-sovereign fund, instead takes equity stakes in infrastructure assets.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. On what date did the NaBFID Act, 2021 receive Presidential assent?

28 March 2021

19 April 2021

23 March 2021

8 August 2022

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Great to Know

• NaBFID’s total assets grew 44% year-on-year, to Rs 1.04 trillion, as of 31 December 2025.
• It plans to borrow up to Rs 70,000 crore in FY26, more than triple the roughly Rs 23,000 crore it raised in FY25.
• In February 2026, NaBFID raised its first-ever foreign-currency loan, about $125 million from HSBC.
• In March 2026, NaBFID announced plans for a $500 million equity-focused fund, to be set up at GIFT City.
• In May 2026, NaBFID raised Rs 4,000 crore through 10-year bonds, at a 7.74% yield.

Current Affairs

• 2026: NaBFID expands its overseas and equity-market presence.
  • It raised its maiden foreign-currency loan, $125 million from HSBC, in February 2026.
  • It is setting up a $500 million equity-focused alternative investment fund at GIFT City, in talks with the IFSCA.
  • It raised Rs 4,000 crore via 10-year bonds, at a 7.74% yield, in May 2026, despite a cautious bond market.