Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations

Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
Name	Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
Type	Think tank
Founded	1981
Headquarters	New Delhi, India
Location	11, Indraprastha Estate, New Delhi
Area served	India, South Asia, International
Focus	Public policy research, International relations, Trade, Development
Methods	Research, Policy analysis, Capacity building

Contents

Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations is a New Delhi–based policy research institute focusing on India's role in international trade and economic development. It produces research used by Ministry of Finance (India), Reserve Bank of India, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other international bodies. The institute engages with issues spanning foreign policy, agriculture, labor markets, infrastructure, and climate change affecting regional and global decision-making.

History

Founded in 1981, the institute emerged amid shifts in Cold War geopolitics and changing ties between India and multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Early work addressed trade liberalisation debates contemporaneous with the 1991 Indian economic reforms and negotiations at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and later the World Trade Organization. Over subsequent decades the institute expanded research portfolios to include links with the Asian Development Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and regional processes such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

The institute operates under a board comprising former senior civil servants, academics, and private sector figures drawn from institutions such as Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), Indian Statistical Institute, and universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University. Senior scholars have included economists connected to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, London School of Economics, and University of Chicago. Administrative structure features divisions for macroeconomic policy, trade, agriculture, and climate linked to research groups collaborating with Harvard University, Stanford University, and Oxford University on specific projects.

Research programmes encompass international trade, macroeconomics, development, agriculture, urbanisation, energy, and environment. Work on trade policy ties into negotiations at the World Trade Organization and regional trade arrangements like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. Studies on agriculture draw on data from entities such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, while urban and infrastructure analysis engages frameworks from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and United Nations Development Programme. Energy and climate research connects to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios and India's commitments under the Paris Agreement.

The institute publishes working papers, policy briefs, monographs, and annual reports used by stakeholders including the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), NITI Aayog, Planning Commission (India), and international agencies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. It maintains datasets and indices referenced by researchers at Columbia University, University of Cambridge, and University of California, Berkeley. Publication series often cite comparative studies involving China, United States, European Union, Japan, and ASEAN members, and are circulated to parliamentary committees and commissions such as the Standing Committee on Finance and Parliament of India.

The institute provides testimony and advisory inputs to policy bodies including Ministry of Finance (India), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), and international delegations to the World Trade Organization. Research has influenced tariff policy, urban planning initiatives tied to the Smart Cities Mission, and agricultural market reforms referenced during debates in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. It has collaborated with multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corporation on project appraisals and capacity building.

Funding derives from a mix of Indian government grants, contracts with multilateral agencies including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, project financing from philanthropic foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and partnerships with academic institutions such as London School of Economics, Harvard Kennedy School, and Stanford University. Corporate partnerships have included consultancies for firms operating in sectors tied to National Highways Authority of India projects and energy companies subject to regulation by bodies like the Central Electricity Authority.

The institute organises conferences, seminars, and lecture series drawing participants from institutions including Columbia University, University of Oxford, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, London School of Economics, and policy officials from Ministry of External Affairs (India). It hosts award lectures and prizes recognizing contributions to public policy research, and outreach programs partnering with think tanks such as Centre for Policy Research, Observer Research Foundation, Brookings Institution, Chatham House, and regional organisations like Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.