With extensive experience of around 36 years in the development banking and financial domains, Dr Padmanabhan Raja Jaishankar is currently managing director (MD) of India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL). Additionally, he holds the position of chairman of IIFCL’s wholly owned subsidiary companies– IIFC (UK) Limited, IIFCL Projects Limited and IIFCL Asset Management Company Limited.
He has over 13 years of experience with IIFCL, specialising in infrastructure project finance. Since May 2020, as the MD, Jaishankar has led the formulation and implementation of a focused strategy of IIFCL, a first-of-its-kind exercise for the company. He has been instrumental in transforming the company from an operational loss-making firm in 2019-20 to a profitable venture now, with notable reduction in its non-performing assets. More interestingly, Jaishankar has led the introduction of numerous innovative financing products such as credit enhancement and takeout finance, reverse mortgages, etc., and is known to have structured India’s first ever mortgage securitisation transaction.
He excels in resource mobilisation, including multilateral borrowings, structured financing, project appraisal and developing new financial products. Moreover, around 45 per cent of the total business done by IIFCL, since its inception in 2006, has been done in the past four years alone under his leadership.
According to him, “The infrastructure financing landscape has matured substantially, drawing on experiences from the past two decades. Regulatory reforms including changes in model concession agreements, improvements in the arbitration process, introduction of infrastructure investment trusts and revamping of termination payments have helped shape the sector.” Talking about the current state of the sector, he further says, “Currently, this space demands cost-effective, long-term resources and tailored financial solutions to meet its diverse needs. Beyond engineering excellence, effective structuring of financial transactions has become critical. To this end, blended finance, although in early stages, is gaining momentum. Moreover, several new multilateral institutions, previously not engaged with India, have shown a growing interest.”
He holds a master’s in technology from IIT Delhi, an MBA (finance) from FMS Delhi University and a doctorate in management from Amity International Business School. He has also received an honorary doctorate from Maryland State University, USA, for his contribution to infrastructure finance management.