NIIF hires PAG veteran Gauravjit Singh to lead global capital formation

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has appointed former PAG executive Gauravjit Singh as managing partner and global head of capital formation, as India’s sovereign-anchored alternative asset manager looks to deepen its investor base and raise fresh capital across its investment strategies.

In a statement on Monday, NIIF said that Singh will lead the firm’s capital formation efforts across its funds, with a mandate to deepen relationships with existing investors, broaden its international and domestic institutional investor base and bring in new capital.

The appointment comes as NIIF looks to accelerate deployment across its strategies while also expanding its pool of institutional capital.

Last month, Krishna Kumar, partner, India Japan Fund at NIIF, told Mint in an interview that the fund was moving into a faster deployment phase after spending its first 12-18 months developing its investment thesis. The $600 million fund is targeting four to five investments over the next 12-18 months, with individual investments of $30 million to $90 million.

“India is now central to how global institutions think about long-term returns. Conviction is no longer the primary constraint—differentiated opportunity is,” Singh said. “NIIF’s role is to create meaningful and investable pathways to accelerate the flow of capital into India’s growth.”

Singh joins the firm after heading investor relations and fundraising at PAG’s private equity division in Singapore, where he also served on the investment and exit committees, NIIF said.

Fundraising push

NIIF is a government-anchored alternative asset manager investing across infrastructure and related sectors. It manages multiple strategies, including its Master Fund, Strategic Opportunities Fund, Private Markets Fund and India-Japan Fund.

The platform counts the Government of India as its anchor investor, alongside global institutions including ADIA, Temasek, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, AustralianSuper and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

NIIF has mobilised about $3 billion in new equity commitments over the past 24 months, according to the firm.

Earlier this year, NIIF secured commitments of up to $750 million at the first close of its Private Markets Fund II, which has a target size of $1 billion. In August, it announced the ₹19,000 crore ($2 billion) first close of Infrastructure Fund II, representing more than 60% of its ₹30,000 crore ($3.2 billion) target.

“As we enter our next phase of growth, deepening our relationships with existing investors, bringing new investors into the NIIF ecosystem and broadening our sources of capital will be important priorities,” said Sanjiv Aggarwal, managing director and chief executive officer, NIIF.

The new executive brings nearly two decades of fundraising experience across PAG, KKR and True North, with exposure to global, India-focused and pan-Asian investment strategies, NIIF said.

Singh previously led investor relations at True North, where he supported the firm’s expansion into private credit and new institutional markets across the US, Europe, West Asia and North Africa, and Japan.