Sigma Research & Consulting

What Sigma Research & Consulting does

Sigma Research and Consulting is a New Delhi–headquartered research and consulting firm founded in 2008 by Dr. U.V. Somayajulu, organized around four operational units: the Social Research Centre (SRC) for study design and methodology, the Field and Tab Unit (FTU) for pan-India data collection, the Data Processing Unit (DPU) for analytics and engineering, and Sigma IRB, an Institutional Review Board registered with the US OHRP that provides ethical review of research protocols. The firm delivers large-scale social, developmental, and commercial research to government ministries (notably the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for NFHS-6), international organizations (UNICEF for the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey, UNFPA, World Bank), central bank and regulator engagements (RBI Digital Payments Survey), corporate CSR programs (ONGC, GAIL), and NGOs and foundations (Akshaya Patra, Khan Academy India, Room to Read).

The technology stack combines custom CAPI applications built on SurveyCTO, CSPro, ODK, and Survey Solutions with statistical analysis in SPSS/Stata/R/Python (including scikit-learn for ML-based segmentation and prediction), BI dashboards in Power BI/Tableau/Metabase, and qualitative analysis tools (NVivo, ATLAS.ti, MAXQDA), backed by modern data-engineering infrastructure (Airflow, dbt, GitHub Actions, DVC). A 25,000+ field-investigator network covers 25+ states, 80+ cities, and 20+ Indian languages, with regional offices in Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

Revenue is generated through quote-based, project-specific professional-services contracts across five service lines: Social and Developmental Research, Commercial Research, Data Collection and Analysis, Ethical Research Consulting, and CSR & Impact Assessments. GTM is consultative and enterprise-led, with direct engagement through government tenders, institutional RFPs, and referrals; marketing relies on thought leadership, website case studies, and LinkedIn presence. The firm is privately held and founder-controlled, with no disclosed external funding, no audited revenue disclosure, and 1,912+ completed projects since inception.

Name

Sigma Research & Consulting

Legal name

Sigma Research and Consulting Private Limited

Website

https://sigma-india.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Sigma Research & Consulting is a New Delhi–based, founder-owned research firm founded in 2008 that delivers social, developmental, and commercial research via four integrated units (SRC, FTU, DPU, Sigma IRB) to government ministries, international organizations, corporates, and NGOs across India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Management Consulting Services (54161), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ), Data, Analytics & AI Consulting (BPAHAEAF), Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Social research consulting
• CSR impact assessment
• Data collection services
• Ethical research consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Social and Developmental Research: Comprehensive research services for governments and international organizations covering health, nutrition, gender, environment, and social policy. Includes National Family Health Surveys, demographic studies, and program evaluations.
2. Commercial Research: Market research services including consumer behavior analysis, brand tracking, product testing, competitive analysis, and retail audits for corporate clients.
3. Data Collection and Analysis: Quantitative and qualitative data collection using CAPI/CATI/CAWI methods, real-time monitoring, statistical analysis, and survey design services.
4. Ethical Research Consulting: Expert guidance on research protocols, IRB compliance, US OHRP compliance, and cross-border research support.
5. CSR & Impact Assessments: Impact assessments for corporations, NGOs, foundations, and government bodies. Includes baseline studies, needs assessments, program design, monitoring, and evaluation for CSR compliance.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sigma Research & Consulting is an India-based advisory firm that delivers social, developmental, and commercial research services for governments, international organizations, corporations, and NGOs. Its work spans large-scale national surveys, CSR impact assessments, consumer and market research, qualitative and quantitative data collection, and ethics/IRB oversight, executed through four internal units (Social Research Centre, Field and Tab Unit, Data Processing Unit, and Institutional Review Board) and a PAN-India network of trained field investigators.

Product overview

Sigma Research and Consulting is a research and consulting firm organized around four operational units — Social Research Centre (SRC), Field and Tab Unit (FTU), Data Processing Unit (DPU), and Institutional Review Board (Sigma IRB) — that collectively deliver end-to-end social, developmental, and commercial research services. The SRC provides conceptual and methodological expertise; FTU handles nationwide data collection via CAPI/CATI/CAWI; DPU manages data engineering, analytics, ML modeling, and dashboarding; and Sigma IRB ensures ethical compliance. Their five core service offerings — Social and Developmental Research, Commercial Research, Data Collection and Analysis, Ethical Research Consulting, and CSR & Impact Assessments — are delivered using this four-unit architecture, supported by platforms including SurveyCTO, CSPro, SPSS, Stata, R, Python, Tableau, Power BI, Atlas.ti, and NVivo. Notable projects include NFHS-6, CNNS, LASI, MDMS evaluation, GAIL CSR Impact Assessment, RBI Digital Payments Survey, and ONGC CSR assessments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Social Research Centre (SRC) Multi-disciplinary research unit specializing in study design, sampling strategy, baseline/midline/endline evaluations, impact evaluations including RCTs and quasi-experimental designs, monitoring and process evaluation, KAP surveys, qualitative and mixed-methods research, and ethics/IRB compliance.
• Field and Tab Unit (FTU) PAN-India field data collection and processing unit deploying trained investigators across urban, peri-urban, and rural India using tablet-based CAPI/CATI/CAWI workflows, strict SOPs, and real-time visibility; also offers mystery shopping, retail audits, product and price tracking, and QC including audio reviews and geo-tagged media trails.
• Data Processing Unit (DPU) Engineering and analytics backbone handling digital tool design, automated data pipelines, statistical analysis (SPSS/STATA/R/Python), ML modeling, dashboards and reporting (Power BI/Tableau/Metabase), and qualitative analysis (NVivo/ATLAS.ti/MAXQDA), managing end-to-end data governance, reproducibility, and compliance.
• Institutional Review Board (Sigma IRB) Independent ethics board registered with US OHRP, providing priority reviews of research protocols, ensuring compliance with ICMR/MoSPI guidelines and international ethical standards, and safeguarding rights, safety, and well-being of research participants; has reviewed 760+ study protocols.
• Social and Developmental Research Comprehensive research addressing societal challenges across health, nutrition, gender, environmental, social policy, and community development domains, including large-scale national surveys (NFHS, CNNS, LASI), baseline/endline studies, KAP surveys, and adolescent/child protection studies for governments, UN agencies, and NGOs.
• Commercial Research Market insights and consumer behavior analysis for businesses across diverse sectors, covering market segmentation, brand tracking, consumer behavior studies, product testing, competitive analysis, and retail audits.
• Data Collection and Analysis Services Advanced data gathering and processing using CAPI tools (SurveyCTO/CSPro/ODK/Survey Solutions), quantitative and qualitative methods, real-time monitoring, statistical analysis (SPSS/STATA/R), survey design, and data validation, processing 50M+ records with 98%+ accuracy.
• Ethical Research Consulting Expert guidance on research protocols, US OHRP compliance, IRB protocol development, ethical review processes, data security, and cross-border research support, anchored in Sigma IRB services and compliance with ICMR, MoSPI, and ICSR ethical standards.
• CSR & Impact Assessments End-to-end CSR consulting for corporations, NGOs, foundations, and government bodies covering baseline studies, needs assessments, program design (Theory of Change, KPIs, logframes), monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment per CSR Rules 2021, and technology-enabled solutions across education, health, skilling, environment, elderly care, and community development; 38+ completed CSR projects across 8+ states.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.9/5 customer satisfaction rating
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration21 records

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on environmental and sanitation research including waste management surveys and rural sanitation studies. Sigma provides fieldwork capabilities while TERI contributes research expertise in sustainable development.
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple collaborative projects including GAIL CSR impact assessment commissioned through TISS, and baseline/impact assessments in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Nagpur, and Maharashtra slums totaling over 20,000 interviews.
• Institute of Development Studies, KolkatacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on evaluation of Mid Day Meal Scheme, conducting school surveys and process monitoring across 17 states and union territories.
• International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for national surveys including NFHS and LASI. IIPS serves as technical partner while Sigma provides implementation and fieldwork expertise.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ipsos India: Global market and opinion research firm with significant India operations serving public-sector, healthcare, and consumer clients; directly comparable to Sigma on large-scale social and policy surveys.
• IMRB International (Kantar IMRB): One of India's largest market and social research firms, now part of Kantar; competes directly with Sigma for large-scale consumer, social, and policy research mandates from government and corporate clients.
• Hansa Research: Indian market research firm offering consumer, media, and social-sector research; comparable in scale and clientele to Sigma's commercial and social research practices.
• Nielsen India: Global measurement and data analytics firm with deep India presence in consumer research, retail measurement, and media analytics; competes with Sigma's Commercial Research and data-collection offerings.
• Kadence International: Asia-focused research consultancy with established India operations covering consumer, healthcare, and social-sector research; comparable to Sigma on fieldwork-heavy, multi-country engagement models.
• Sambodhi Research: Indian development-sector research and M&E firm focused on impact evaluation, health, livelihoods, and CSR assessments; directly competes with Sigma for NGO, CSR, and donor-funded mandates in India.

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Global research and insights leader whose India arm (including IMRB) offers a much broader portfolio of brand, consumer, and media research; overlaps with Sigma's commercial research and CSR/impact work.

Others

• International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS): Premier Indian demographic and population research institute and Sigma's long-standing partner on NFHS and LASI; acts simultaneously as a collaborator, principal investigator, and adjacent research competitor.
• The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI): Indian research institute focused on environment, energy, and sustainable development; partners with Sigma on environmental and sanitation surveys while also conducting independent policy research in adjacent domains.

Regional players

• Mathematica Policy Research: US-based policy research and evaluation firm with comparable expertise in rigorous impact evaluation, RCTs, and large-scale social surveys; serves as an international reference point for the kind of high-credibility public-sector research Sigma performs in India.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sigmaresearch
• LinkedInin.linkedin.com/company/sigma-research-&consulting-pvt-ltd

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sigma Research & Consulting