With reference to the National Investment Fund to which the disinvestment proceeds are routed, consider the following statements: 1. The assets in the National Investment Fund are managed by the Union Ministry of Finance. 2. The National Investment Fund is to be maintained within the Consolidated Fund of India. 3. Certain Asset Management Companies are appointed as the fund managers. 4. A certain proportion of annual income is used for financing select social sectors. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The National Investment Fund (NIF) was set up in November 2005 to manage the proceeds from the disinvestment of Central Public Sector Enterprises. Statement 1 is incorrect. The NIF is not managed directly by the Union Ministry of Finance. Its assets are managed by professional fund managers — public sector Asset Management Companies (initially UTI AMC, SBI Funds Management and LIC Mutual Fund AMC). Statement 2 is incorrect. NIF proceeds are not kept within the Consolidated Fund of India; they are maintained in the Public Account of India, outside the Consolidated Fund. Statement 3 is correct. As noted above, designated public sector Asset Management Companies are appointed as the fund managers of NIF. Statement 4 is correct. As per the original 2005 NIF guidelines, 75% of the annual income generated by the fund was earmarked for select social sector schemes (education, health and employment), so a certain proportion of the annual income is indeed used to finance select social sectors. Therefore, only statements 3 and 4 are correct, and the answer is option C.