Indus Infra Trust is a publicly listed Infrastructure Investment Trust that owns and operates a portfolio of Indian highway projects, all of which earn fixed, semi-annual payments from the government rather than from tolls. It was created in 2022 by the engineering firm G R Infraprojects Limited (GRIL) and listed its units on the stock exchange in March 2024, becoming the first HAM-focused InvIT in the country. The recurring approach is to buy completed roads from its sponsor and other developers, lock in a visible stream of government-backed annuity payments, and pass nearly all the cash to unitholders - a model built entirely on predictable, sovereign-linked cash flows.
Business segments
A single engine - a portfolio of operational highway assets that collects fixed, government-backed annuity payments - with growth coming from acquiring more of the same.
1. The road portfolio: a sovereign-backed annuity stream
The Trust owns 13 completed highways across India, each generating a pre-determined, semi-annual payment from the National Highways Authority of India for the remainder of its concession - no traffic risk, no demand risk, just a contractual government obligation.
- Paid by the government, not by drivers - every project operates under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), where NHAI pays a fixed sum twice a year for the life of the concession, so revenue does not depend on how many vehicles use the road.
- The counterparty is the sovereign - NHAI is rated ‘ICRA AAA’/Stable and is backed by central government budget allocations, which is why all 87 annuity payments received so far have arrived on time and without material deduction.
- Inflation protection is built in - the operation and maintenance portion of each annuity is indexed to inflation, and the interest component floats with the RBI Bank Rate or bank lending benchmarks, creating a natural hedge against rising costs and rates.
- A portfolio of 13 roads, not one bet - the assets span 8 states, approximately 838 km of design length, and have a weighted average residual concession life of roughly 11.3 years, so no single project or region dominates the cash flows.
- Acquisitions extend the annuity runway - the Trust bought four roads from GRIL during FY2026 and has signed agreements to acquire four more from KNR Constructions, each addition lengthening the weighted average concession life and increasing the pool of outstanding annuity receivables, which stood at about ₹10,695 crore.
Group structure and partners
The Trust is a three-tier structure with independent oversight, a dedicated investment manager, and a project manager that outsources road maintenance to the sponsor - each layer with distinct, non-overlapping responsibilities.
- The Trustee guards unitholder interests - IDBI Trusteeship Services Limited provides independent oversight of the Trust, ensuring the investment manager and project manager act within their mandates.
- The Investment Manager decides what to buy - GR Highways Investment Manager Private Limited makes all investment decisions, manages the portfolio, and reports to a board that includes former NHAI chairmen and senior bankers.
- The Project Manager keeps the roads running - Aadharshila Infratech Private Limited coordinates all operations and maintenance, contracting the actual roadwork back to GRIL under fixed-price agreements that give clarity on long-term operating costs.
- The sponsor supplies the pipeline - GRIL holds roughly 44% of the Trust’s units and has granted a Right of First Offer on 19 road assets, giving the Trust a visible acquisition queue that competitors cannot easily replicate.