To unlock capital tied in completed infrastructure projects and attract institutional investors like pension funds, SEBI introduced a new asset class called ___ in 2014, which functions similarly to mutual funds but holds revenue-generating physical assets.

Answer: InvITs (or Infrastructure Investment Trusts)

InvITs enable developers to monetize their operational, revenue-generating assets (like toll roads or power grids) by transferring them into a trust. The trust then issues units to investors, distributing the cash flows generated by the assets as dividends. This recycling of capital allows developers to pay off debt and reinvest in new, greenfield infrastructure projects.