India's Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) framework, governed by the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012, has matured significantly over the past decade. As of 2025, over 1,200 AIFs are registered with SEBI managing combined commitments exceeding Rs.12 lakh crore.
The Three Categories
Category I AIFs invest in start-ups, early-stage ventures, social ventures, SMEs, infrastructure, or other sectors considered economically and socially desirable. They receive certain government incentives.
Category II AIFs are the most common — private equity funds, debt funds, and fund of funds that do not undertake leverage or borrowing other than to meet day-to-day operational requirements.
Category III AIFs employ complex or diverse trading strategies including through the use of derivatives, and include hedge funds.
Registration and Compliance Requirements
Registration requires a minimum corpus of Rs.20 crore (Rs.10 crore for angel funds). Each fund must appoint a SEBI-registered custodian, auditor, and fund manager. Quarterly reports must be submitted to SEBI via the SEBI Intermediary Portal (SIP), and capital contribution statements must be shared with LPs.
How Kapitalyze Helps
Kapitalyze Fund OS automates SEBI AIF quarterly reporting, maintains LP contribution ledgers with waterfall calculations, and generates the required fund financial statements — reducing the time your compliance team spends on regulatory paperwork by up to 70%.