Top University in Maharashtra

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai is an advanced research institution established by The Reserve Bank of India in 1987 on the occasion of its golden jubilee.[1] The Institute's mission is to carry out research on developmental issues from a multi-disciplinary point of view. It has one of the largest Social Sciences libraries in Asia. The institute has an M.Phil./Ph.D. programme in Development Studies and also an MSc programme in Economics.

After its registration as an autonomous society on November 14, 1986 and as a public trust on January 15, 1987, then Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated the campus at Goregaon, Mumbai on December 28, 1987. Subsequently, the Institute was recognized as a Deemed University under Section 3 of the UGC Act. Dr Mahendra Dev is the current director of the Institute. At present the Institute has about 150 employees of which 30 are full-time faculty members, 25 are non-academic staff, 50 M.Phil/Ph.D. students and 45 M.Sc Economics students.

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. The objective of the Ph.D. programme is to produce analysts with diverse disciplinary background who can address issues of economics, energy and environmental policy. In 1995, an M. Phil programme was started to help meet the growing need of the country for more Development Economists; this mission to address development issues has been the driving force and motivation behind the growth of the Institute.

IGIDR also has a full-fledged M.Sc. programme which draws applicants from all over India. This programme offers only 25 seats.