Urban Infrastructure Finance Festival 2025 – Unlocking Finance for Urban Futures
The Urban Infrastructure Finance Festival (UIFF) 2025, held on 28–29 October 2025 in New Delhi, brought together over 200 city leaders, policymakers, financial institutions, and development partners from more than 13 States/UTs and 25 cities to deliberate on innovative approaches to finance India’s sustainable urban growth. Organised by GIZ India in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Delegation of the European Union to India and supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the festival was hosted under the EU–India Partnership on Smart and Sustainable Urbanisation.
UIFF 2025 placed finance at the centre of sustainable urbanisation, highlighting the urgent need to move from grant-based approaches towards market-led mechanisms driven by private sector participation and bankable urban projects. Stakeholders emphasised that India requires an estimated USD 55 billion annually until 2036 to meet its urban infrastructure needs, calling for innovative methods to blend public, private, and multilateral capital.
The festival was inaugurated by H.E. Hervé Delphin, Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan, and Shri Srinivas Katikithala, IAS, Secretary, MoHUA. TNIFMC Limited participated in the festival through its flagship initiative, the Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund (TNSF), which promotes affordable and dignified housing by financing high-quality rental and ownership housing units across Tamil Nadu. During the session on “Housing Ecosystem – Making Housing Accessible to Everyone”, hosted by MoHUA at the National Urban Conclave 2025 – Sustainable Urban Development and Governance, Mr. Srinivas Sampath, PhD, Director (Emerging Business Areas), Asian Development Bank, presented an overview of Tamil Nadu’s housing landscape and the operational framework of TNSF.
This was followed by a presentation by Mr. Krishna Chaitanya, CEO, TNIFMC Limited, who shared insights into TNSF’s project initiatives and innovative financing models, highlighting their positive impact on expanding access to affordable housing. Mr. Sathanbabu Mathankumar, CFA, Fund Manager (TNSF), also participated in the session. The session underscored how structured finance, public-private partnerships, and enabling policy frameworks can strengthen the housing ecosystem.