Indira Gandhi Institute of Developmental Research

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The Indira Gandhi Institute of Developmental Research (IGIDR), Mumbai is a research institution established by The Reserve Bank of India in 1987 on the occasion of its golden jubilee. 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. program 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. R. Radhakrishna is the current director of the Institute. At present the Institute has about 120 employees and M.Phil/Ph.D students that include about 30 full time faculty members, 24 non-academic staff and about 60 M.Phil/Ph.D. 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. program for which there are only about 20 spaces drawing applicants from all over India. The entrance procedure comprises two levels of screening. There is first a written exam; once that is cleared, there is a 12 person panel interview.

The Institute has a very successful campus placement record. Companies like Citibank, HSBC, Fair-Isaac, American Express, Deloitte, PWC, ICICI Bank are among the main recruitors. The average salary package for the batch of 2007 was Rs. 7.5 Lakks p.a. Many students also opt for further Reasearch, and IGIDR is known for giving the country the highest number of PhDs in Economics.

The Institute also has an Alumni Association, which conducts an annual meet in the month of January. All the ex-students can get in touch with the alumni cell at alumni@igidr.ac.in.

[edit] 2008 Entrance Information

The entrance exam for programs commencing August 2008 will be held on 27th April 2008 across various centers all around India. Application forms for the same are now available and the last date for submission of fully filled forms is 21st March 2008. For more information log on to institute's website.^[1]