Indian Sociological Society

What Indian Sociological Society does

The Indian Sociological Society (ISS) is a non-profit professional academic society founded in 1951 in Bombay by G.S. Ghurye and 107 founding members. Headquartered in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, ISS is the oldest and most prominent professional society for sociologists in India, serving academic sociologists, doctoral students, and sociology departments across Indian universities and internationally. The Society is governed by elected office bearers (President, Secretary, Treasurer) and a Managing Committee, with no external parent, PE, or VC ownership.

ISS's product portfolio is organized around four pillars: (1) publications — the Sociological Bulletin (biannual since 1952), Bhartiya Samajshastra Sameeksha, an E-Journal, Newsletter, and Jubilee Volumes; (2) events — 50+ All India Sociological Conferences since 1955, Research Committee workshops, and Young Research Scholars Workshops; (3) recognition — Lifetime Achievement Awards, the M.N. Srinivas Memorial Prize, and three named endowment funds (Yogendra Singh, Radha Kamal Mukerjee, M.N. Srinivas); and (4) member services — the TRF Facility and multiple membership tiers. The underlying technology is a WordPress-based website with an integrated membership management system, a secure online election portal, and Zoom integration for virtual events; ISS is currently soliciting bids for a full website redevelopment.

The Society operates a subscription-based non-profit revenue model through membership fees across Life (Indian/Foreign), Institutional, Ordinary, and Student categories, supplemented by conference registrations. Distribution is primarily direct via the insoso.org website (global self-serve) and through regional associations and university partnerships across India. ISS maintains international alliances with the International Sociological Association, European Sociological Association, and several national sociological associations, and is approaching its Platinum Jubilee (75th anniversary) in 2026.

Name

Indian Sociological Society

Legal name

Indian Sociological Society

Website

https://insoso.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Indian Sociological Society is a non-profit professional academic society founded in 1951, serving sociologists, researchers, and students across India through publications, annual conferences, research committees, endowment funds, and a 7,000+ Life Member network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Academic Society

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD), Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

Keywords

• Professional sociology society
• Academic membership services
• Sociological research publications
• Academic conference organizing
• Research grants endowments

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The society generates revenue through various membership categories including Life Membership (Indian and Foreign), Institutional Life Membership, Ordinary Membership, and Student Membership, each with different fee structures for Indian and international members.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Indian Sociological Society is a professional nonprofit academic society that serves sociologists in India through a portfolio of membership services, peer-reviewed publications (Sociological Bulletin since 1952, Bhartiya Samajshastra Sameeksha, E-Journal, Newsletter, Jubilee Volumes), annual All India Sociological Conferences, themed Research Committees conducting lectures and webinars, endowment funds and awards for scholarship. Members gain access to conferences, journals, research committees, mentorship, and a community of 7,000+ life members.

Product overview

The Indian Sociological Society operates as a professional academic society offering a portfolio of publications, events, and membership services. Its core offerings include the Sociological Bulletin (established 1952), Bhartiya Samajshastra Sameeksha, E-Journal, and Newsletter publications. The Society organizes All India Sociological Conferences (AISC), maintains themed Research Committees that conduct online lectures, and administers endowment funds and awards including the Professor M.N. Srinivas Memorial Prize. Membership services include Life Membership, Institutional Membership, and access to TRF Facility. The portfolio functions as a platform of academic resources and professional development services for sociologists in India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sociological Bulletin Biannual peer-reviewed journal of the Indian Sociological Society publishing sociological research and scholarship for the academic sociology community.
• Bhartiya Samajshastra Sameeksha

Quantifiable outcome

• Hosted 50+ All India Sociological Conferences since 1955
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Sociological Association (ISA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISS maintains an active relationship with the International Sociological Association, displaying their logo on the website as part of a network of global sociological societies. The ISA is a worldwide sociological organization that coordinates sociological activities internationally.
• European Sociological AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISS is connected with the European Sociological Association as part of international sociological society networks, facilitating cross-regional academic collaboration.
• Brazilian Sociological AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership with Brazilian Sociological Association for global sociological community networking and knowledge exchange.
• Russian Association of SociologistsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership with Russian Association of Sociologists for cross-border sociological collaboration.
• Polish Sociological AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership with Polish Sociological Association for European-Asian sociological exchange.
• SRM University APminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSRM University AP is hosting the 50th All India Sociological Conference, demonstrating collaboration with academic institutions for conference organization.
• VIT ChennaiminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerVIT Chennai's School of Social Sciences and Languages is jointly organizing a 5-Day Workshop on Mixed Methods Research with ISS, providing hands-on training in SPSS and NVivo.
• Conference AlertsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Conference Alerts for promoting ISS conferences and events to a wider academic audience.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Indian Council of Social Science Research: Government-established apex body funding and promoting social science research in India, with grantmaking and capacity-building functions comparable to ISS's endowment and research-support activities at much larger scale.
• Indian Science Congress Association: Large, well-established Indian academic association hosting an annual science congress with broad disciplinary coverage including social sciences. Comparable in scale, member-driven governance, and annual conference format.

Direct peers

• Indian Anthropological Association: Indian national association for anthropology, closely adjacent discipline to sociology, publishing a peer-reviewed journal and operating membership and conferences similar to ISS.
• Indian Political Science Association: Long-standing Indian academic society for political scientists with membership categories, journal publication, and annual conference — directly comparable in mission, scale, and operational structure.
• British Sociological Association: UK-based professional society for sociologists that publishes Sociology and other journals, hosts an annual conference, and operates membership tiers analogous to ISS. Closest Western European functional mirror.
• Indian Economic Association: One of the oldest Indian academic economics societies, publishing journals and convening annual conferences with elected office bearers — closely analogous operational model to ISS.
• International Sociological Association: World umbrella organization for sociologists that already partners with ISS. Comparable in offering research committees, world congresses, and scholarly publishing — operates at the global level rather than national.
• European Sociological Association: Regional sociological association covering Europe, already partnered with ISS. Comparable through its research networks, conference cycle, and member-driven governance model.
• Indian Association for the Study of Population: Indian academic society for demography/population studies operating with membership, conferences, and a journal — directly comparable in size, structure, and India-centric academic society model.
• American Sociological Association: The largest professional society of sociologists in the world, publishing multiple journals, hosting an annual conference, and managing membership categories similar to ISS. Direct functional and business-model parallel at a much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/societyinsoso
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@indiansociologicalsocietyi1866
• Facebookfacebook.com/IndSocio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/indian-sociological-society
• Instagraminstagram.com/societyinsoso

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Indian Sociological Society