RBI exempts realty-focused SWAMIH Fund from standard AIF rules

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted exemption to the Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) fund from the standard regulations governing alternate investment funds (AIFs).Established in 2019 and managed by SBICAP Ventures, the SWAMIH fund was created to provide debt financing to stressed real estate projects to rescue stalled housing developments.Previously the RBI had directed banks and non-banking finance companies to increase provisions for AIF investments, including those from sovereign funds, particularly if they also lent to the same projects. Under the current framework, a single regulated entity's investment in any AIF is capped at 10% of the scheme's corpus, with total combined lender investment limited to 20%.