Indian Council of Social Science Research

What Indian Council of Social Science Research does

ICSSR (Indian Council of Social Science Research) is a statutory apex body of the Government of India, established in 1969 and operating under the Ministry of Education, that coordinates, funds, and disseminates social science and humanities research nationally. It is headquartered in New Delhi (JNU Institutional Area, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg) and operates a secondary documentation facility through NASSDOC at 35 Ferozeshah Road. ICSSR administers fellowships (doctoral, postdoctoral, senior, national), research project grants, training and capacity-building programmes, national and international conference funding, publication grants, and travel grants; cumulative output through March 2026 includes 13,909 fellowships, 9,137 research projects, 7,645+ funded seminars, and 1,908 publication grants. Its core technology stack comprises the ICSSR Application Portal (app.icssr.org), the E-Library Portal (159,000+ e-books, 66,000+ e-journals, 28.9 million journal articles, 52,800 conference proceedings), the ICSSR Data Service (hosting MoSPI unit-level datasets including ASI and NSS), the Scheme Monitoring Portal (ISMP), the Web OPAC, and Statcraft 3.0 (an R-based browser analytics platform). It is supplemented by DOASR (Directory of Open Access Social Science Resources) and the NASSDOC physical and digital library system holding over 1,27,000 documents, delivered through a network of Regional Centres, Research Institutes, 16 Recognised Institutes, and the DELNET consortium of 8,600+ member institutions.

The organization's business model is overwhelmingly government grant-in-aid (recurring annual budgetary allocation from the Ministry of Education, Government of India), with nominal ancillary income from NASSDOC library memberships (free for employees/beneficiaries; Rs. 1,200/year consulting; Rs. 10,000/year institutional) and unit-priced bibliography-on-demand services (Rs. 200-Rs. 500 minimum). There is no commercial sales channel; all programmes are administered via the self-service application portal and adjudicated by Council committees. Customer segments are horizontal across Indian academia — doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, faculty and social scientists, research institutes, regional centres, and recognised institutes — with no segment generating external revenue. International dimension is limited to bilateral collaboration calls (JSPS Japan, NSTC Taiwan, DFG Germany, ADBI) that facilitate joint funding rather than revenue generation. Leadership sits with Prof. Madhukarbhai S. Padvi (Chairman, Additional Charge) and Prof. Dhananjay Singh (Member Secretary).

Name

Indian Council of Social Science Research

Legal name

Indian Council of Social Science Research

Website

https://icssr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ICSSR is the Government of India's apex statutory body for social science and humanities research, founded in 1969 under the Ministry of Education, funding fellowships, research projects, and conferences while operating the NASSDOC documentation centre and nationwide network of Regional Centres, Research Institutes, and Recognised Institutes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Research Council & Social Science Funding

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Grants, Fellowships & Stipends (International) (EDAIAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research, Capstone & Extended Essay Mentoring (IB EE, independent research) (EDANAKAH)

Keywords

• Social science research
• Research fellowships grants
• Academic documentation services
• Research methodology training
• Government research council

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Grants and Fellowships Disbursed, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding (Grant-in-Aid): ICSSR is funded by the Ministry of Education, Government of India as the apex body for social science research. The organization receives annual budgetary support for its programmes, fellowships, research projects, and operational expenses.
2. NASSDOC Library Services: Provides bibliography-on-demand (Rs. 200-500 minimum), document delivery, and inter-library loan services. Membership fees range from free for ICSSR employees/beneficiaries to Rs. 10,000/year for institutional members.
3. Publication Sales and Grants: ICSSR publishes books, annual reports, and research publications. Annual Reports are non-priced publications. ICSSR also provides publication grants to researchers and collects fees for certain documentation services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ICSSR is the statutory apex body of the Government of India for promoting and coordinating social science and humanities research. It provides research fellowships (doctoral, postdoctoral, senior, national), research project grants, training and capacity-building programmes, publication and travel grants, international joint research calls, and library/documentation services through NASSDOC, serving individual researchers, faculty, and research institutions across India.

Product overview

ICSSR operates as a platform of interconnected programmes and digital services rather than a single product. The core infrastructure consists of the official website (icssr.org) for institutional information, the ICSSR Application Portal for fellowship and grant applications, and the ICSSR E-Library Portal providing access to over 159,000 e-books and 66,000 e-journals through subscribed databases. Supporting services include the NASSDOC library system offering bibliography and document delivery services, the ICSSR Data Service for statistical datasets, the Scheme Monitoring Portal, and programmes for fellowships, research projects, international collaboration, seminars, training, and publications. The organization functions under the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and primarily serves the academic and research community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ICSSR Fellowships Programme Provides doctoral, postdoctoral, senior, and national fellowships supporting M.Phil./Ph.D. scholars, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty pursuing social science research in India; applications are processed through app.icssr.org.
• Research Projects Grant Programme Awards grants for major and minor research projects to scholars and institutions to advance social science research across India.
• NASSDOC Library and Reference Services Provides bibliography on demand, literature search, document delivery, inter-library loan (via DELNET), plagiarism checking, reading hall access, and continuing education programmes at NASSDOC's New Delhi library; includes tiered membership (institutional, consulting, free for beneficiaries).
• ICSSR E-Library and Digital Research Resources Portal A digital research platform providing 24x7 access to subscribed and open-access e-books, e-journals, journal articles, conference proceedings, and Web-OPAC; designed for social science researchers, faculty, and ICSSR fellows.
• ICSSR Data Service A data repository providing single-point access to statistical datasets in social sciences contributed by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), including ASI and NSS unit-level data, for use by researchers, faculty, and policy analysts.
• International Collaboration Programme Facilitates joint research proposals, workshops, and bilateral collaboration calls between Indian social scientists and international partner agencies including JSPS (Japan), NSTC (Taiwan), DFG (Germany), and ADBI.
• National and International Seminars/Conferences Funding Provides grant-in-aid to Indian academic institutions and researchers for organising national and international seminars, conferences, and workshops in social sciences.
• Training and Capacity Building Programme Funds research methodology workshops, internships, and capacity-building programmes for early career social science researchers and undergraduate students in India.
• Publication, Travel, and Data Collection Grants Provides publication grants for books and journals, travel grants for conference participation, and grants for data collection abroad to support dissemination and field research by Indian social scientists.
• ICSSR Publications and Annual Reports Publishes books covering social science research findings supported by ICSSR, including works on food security, financial inclusion, media industry, foreign policy, and cultural heritage, and produces non-priced annual reports from 2000-01 onwards.
• Directory of Open Access Social Science Resources (DOASR) A unified platform compiling open-access e-journals, e-books, working papers, repositories, e-prints, article databases, and socio-economic databases with brief introductions, designed for social science researchers.
• Statcraft 3.0 Statistics and Analytics Platform A web-based statistics and analytics platform running on R with a browser GUI, providing correlation, regression, and non-parametric tests for social science researchers using ICSSR Data Service datasets.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13,909 ICSSR Fellowships Awarded to date
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026ICSSR-JSPS Joint Call for Research Proposals FY 2027 - bilateral collaboration inviting joint research proposals in social sciences between Indian and Japanese researchers.
• NSTC (National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2026ICSSR-NSTC Joint Call for Research Proposals 2026 - bilateral partnership for joint social science research proposals between India and Taiwan.
• ADBI (Asian Development Bank Institute)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2026ADBI-ICSSR Strategic Partnership Workshop on 'Viksit Bharat Vision @2047 and Asia's Future Prosperity: Shared Vision, Shared Pathways' - strategic workshop on development vision and Asia prosperity.
• DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft / German Research Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2024Indo-German Funding Opportunity for Joint Research Projects in Social Sciences and Humanities - MOU-based collaboration for joint academic research projects.
• CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAG-ICSSR Colloquium series on Public Finance of States - ongoing collaboration conducting state-level colloquia on public finance, waste management, public health infrastructure, and health services management across multiple Indian states.
• DELNET (Developing Library Network)coreTechnology or IntegrationNASSDOC is an active member of DELNET with over 8,600 member institutions. DELNET promotes resource sharing through Union Catalogues of Books and Journals, Article Databases, E-Books, E-Journals, and Inter-Library Loan facilities.
• AASSREC (Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICSSR serves as a member/leader of AASSREC, representing India in regional social science research council coordination across Asia.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG): German Research Foundation that funds research across all disciplines including social sciences and humanities. Directly comparable to ICSSR as a national research funding body with bilateral research partnerships (DFG is also an ICSSR partner), peer review, and international cooperation programmes.
• Social Science Research Council (SSRC): US-based non-profit organisation that funds social science research, fellowships, and international collaboration. Highly comparable to ICSSR in mission and programmatic structure (fellowships, research grants, international partnerships), though structured as an NGO rather than government body.
• Australian Research Council (ARC): Australian government body that funds research, administers fellowships, and supports international collaboration. Comparable to ICSSR as a government research funding agency operating under ministerial authority with grant administration and discovery programmes.
• Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS): China's premier academic institution for social sciences research, policy advisory body, and PhD training. Comparable to ICSSR as the apex social science body under government authority, with think tank, research, and international engagement functions.
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC): UK Research and Innovation council that funds social science research, doctoral training, and research infrastructure. Directly comparable to ICSSR as a government-funded social science research council with fellowships, grants, and international collaboration programmes.
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS): Japanese government agency that funds scientific and social science research, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships, and international bilateral programmes. Directly comparable to ICSSR as a national research council with fellowship programmes and active bilateral research agreements (JSPS is an ICSSR partner).

Regional players

• Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR): Indian government autonomous body for promoting historical research, also under the Ministry of Education. Closely comparable to ICSSR as a sister research council operating in an adjacent humanities discipline with fellowships, research projects, and publication grants structure.
• National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT): Indian government organisation under the Ministry of Education that supports educational research and curriculum development. Comparable to ICSSR as a sibling autonomous body in India's education R&D ecosystem, with similar funding, institutional networks, and policy advisory functions.
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR): India's premier industrial R&D organisation, also under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Sibling organisation to ICSSR within the Indian government R&D ecosystem, operating as an autonomous body with similar statutory structure, government funding, and national network of laboratories.

Broad incumbents

• National Science Foundation (NSF): US government agency that funds research and education across all fields including social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Directly comparable to ICSSR as a national government research funder with grant-making authority, peer review systems, and international collaborations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/icssr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@icssrindia
• Facebookfacebook.com/icssr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icssr-official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Indian Council of Social Science Research