Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) is an advanced research institute established and fully funded by the Reserve Bank of India for carrying out research on development issues from a multi-disciplinary point of view.

IGIDR was registered as an autonomous society on November 14, 1986 and as a public trust in January 1987. On December 28, 1987 the campus was inaugurated by Late. Shri Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India.

Subsequently, the Institute was recognized as a Deemed University under Section 3 of the UGC Act. Since then it has been awarded the highest National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) rating of A++ (under the old methodology) given to Indian academic institutions.

Starting as a purely research institution, it rapidly developed into a full-fledged teaching cum research organisation when it launched a Ph.D. program in the field of development studies in 1990. The objective of the Ph.D. programme is to produce researchers with diverse disciplinary backgrounds who can address issues of economics, energy and environment policies. In 1995, the institute initiated the M. Phil programme. The M.Sc. programme commenced in 2003 to introduce students to the world of research at an earlier stage.

At present the Institute has about 150 employees and students that include about 26 full time faculty members, 24 non-academic staff and about 90 M.Sc./M.Phil/Ph.D students.

Objectives

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.

The primary objectives of the Institute are :

• 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.

Research

The research agenda of the Institute is guided by policy concerns, by individual faculty members' research interests and by projects from national and international sponsors. The output of such research is disseminated as IGIDR publications in the form of discussion papers, project reports, books, monographs and reprints of journal articles.
The following are the broad areas of research at IGIDR:

• Economic Reforms and Macroeconomic Policies.
• Public Economics.
• International Trade and Exchange Rates.
• Industrial Organisation, Industrial Economics.
• Game Theory.
• Financial Sector, Banking.
• Agricultural Economics, Food Policy.
• Poverty, Safety Nets, PDS, Rural Development.
• Labour Economics.
• Economic History.
• Energy and Infrastructure.
• Environmental Studies, Climate Change Issues