Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research

The institute was the brainchild of Prof. Jyoti Parikh and Prof. Kirit Parikh and was funded by the Reserve Bank of India.[3] It was formally opened upon the occasion of the bank's golden jubilee in 1987.[4]

After its registration as an autonomous society on 14 November 1986 and as a public trust on 15 January 1987, then Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated the campus at Goregaon, Mumbai on 28 December 1987. Subsequently, the Institute was recognized as a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act.

Starting as a purely research-oriented institution, the Institute quickly developed into a full-fledged teaching cum research organisation when in 1990 it launched a Ph.D. programme in the field of development studies under agreement with Bombay University.[1] The objective of the Ph.D. programme is to produce analysts with diverse disciplinary background who can address developmental issues of policy. In 1995, accreditation for its own Ph.D. programme was obtained and a Masters programme was started to help meet the growing need of the country for more development economists.[1] The mission to address development issues has been the driving force and motivation behind the growth of the Institute.

IGIDR also has a full-fledged Masters of Science programme which draws applicants from all over India. This programme is limited to twenty-five participants at a time.

Dr. Kirit S. Parikh was the first director of the Institute.[5]

Dr. Mahendra Dev is the current director of the Institute. As of 2016, the Institute had about 150 employees of which 30 were full-time faculty members, 25 were non-academic staff, 50 were M.Phil/Ph.D. students and 45 were M.Sc Economics students.[6]

• Shaktikanta Das, Chairman
• S. Mahendra Dev, Director (Vice Chancellor)
• Goverdhan Mehta, Member
• K.L. Krishna, Member
• Mihir Rakshit, Member
• Jayati Sarkar, Member
• Vikas Chitre, Member
• R. Nagaraj, Member
• Jai Mohan Pandit, Registrar

The aims and objectives of the Institute are to promote and conduct research on developmental issues from a broad inter- disciplinary perspective (economic, technological, social, political and ecological). It aspires to gain insights into the process of development and alternative policy options and to further disseminate the knowledge acquired.[7]

The primary objectives of the Institute are :[7]

• To promote and conduct research on development from a broad inter-disciplinary perspective.
• To promote co-operative endeavour and interaction between research scholars and institutions in India and abroad.
• To undertake projects or activity which renders itself useful for the furtherance of development and social welfare.
• To carry out training for advanced degrees viz. Master's and Doctorate award.

Special emphasis will be laid on the following areas:

• The comparative study of development and policy in different regions and countries.
• The growing interdependence among nations in the world economy and its impact on development strategies and policy options.
• The influence of international trading, financial and economic systems on countries.
• The examination of energy, technology and environment problems in global setting.
• The analytical foundations of the positions adopted by India and other developing countries in international forums and negotiations.
• Economic and technological cooperation among developing countries and India's development experience and policies.
• Planning techniques and methodology.
• Issues in the choice of technology and social well being.
• The role of innovation and diffusion of technology in development.
• Resource utilisation and environment implications of technological alternatives.
• Social, legal, organisational and institutional aspects of development.
• The Institute shall also serve as a centre for promoting co-operative endeavour and interaction in research activities between Indian scholars and institutions as well as between Indian and foreign scholars and institutions

The Institute is located on a 14-acre (57,000 m²) site on a hillside in Goregaon (East), 15 minutes by public bus from Mumbai's suburban Goregaon railway station and 20 minutes drive from Mumbai's national and international airports. The campus, whose architecture is inspired by the art in the Elephanta and Jogeshwari caves, includes office buildings for research and administrative staff, several seminar rooms, a 500-seat auditorium, a library, a computer centre, a cafeteria and a guest house where visiting scholars are accommodated.

The students and staff of the Institute are provided accommodation on campus. There are also some recreational facilities which include a 20-metre swimming pool, a tennis court, an indoor badminton court, a table tennis room, a small jogging track, a fully equipped gym and a children's park at the Institute.

The Institute also has an Alumni Association, which conducts an annual meet in the month of January.

• IGIDR Website
• IGIDR's success with SAS
• Economics Departments, Institutes and Research Centers in the World
• IGIDR at EPW
• Tenth Convocation at IGIDR
• IGIDR Silver Jubilee Coverage