Page 5 - Issue 01

Here, I would like to share the message given at successive directors as well as the continuous
the time of the Silver Jubilee year of the institute encouragement and support of the Reserve Bank
in 2012/13 by Dr. Manmohan Singh who was the of India and its successive Governing Board
then Prime Minister. The message is the following. Members.

“I extend my greetings to the faculty, staff and The research agenda of IGIDR is guided by
students of the Indira Gandhi Institute of contemporary policy concerns, individual faculty
Development Research (IGIDR), as the institute members’ research interests, and through
celebrates its silver Jubilee this year. sponsored projects. Theoretical as well as
empirical research undertaken over the years
It is with great fondness that I look back at the covers a wide range of topics and themes such as
time when the idea of IGIDR was conceived during macroeconomics, banking and finance, household
my tenure as Governor, Reserve Bank of India. finance and financial sector regulation, poverty,
Though it was initially conceived as an Economics inequality and human development, food security
think tank for the country, IGIDR was inaugurated and agriculture, industrial organisation and
as an advanced research institute in 1987 by the corporate governance, international finance and
then Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi. trade, development economics, public economics,
institutional and law and economics, energy and
I am happy that IGIDR has emerged as a centre of environment policy, urban economics and
excellence for higher learning in economics, migration, and city planning. These areas of
focusing on academic training and research from research focus reflect the diverse expertise and
an interdisciplinary and international perspective. interests of its faculty, both past and current.
It has gained status as a deemed university in 1995 IGIDR’s research would continue to stay focused
and has been accredited with the highest ranking on various developmental problems and issues of
for its teaching and research programmes. policy relevance as they evolve from time to time.
At the same time, the Institute recognizes the need
In these challenging times, our country needs to expand its research profile in some of the
quality academic inputs into the policy making emerging areas to maintain its stature as a premier
exercise. It is this challenge that IGIDR should take institution for research in economics and public
up as it prepares for the years ahead. policy.

I congratulate all those who have been associated The Institute will seek to enhance faculty strength
with IGIDR’s growth and development. I wish – both regular and visiting faculty – in a few of the
them and IGIDR all the best for the future." emerging research areas. A decentralized system
for faculty and students has provided a free
Over the years, IGIDR has established itself as a intellectual space for research ideas, within the
premier research cum-teaching institute and its broad theme of Development.
current eminence derives in a large measure from
the efforts of its faculty, students and staff, Right from the beginning IGIDR has had a

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