The India Institute is home to academic staff who pursue research within multiple social science disciplines, employing a range of research methods. Our research focuses on four broad themes:
- Democracy, the state and political institutions in India
- India’s political economy, including the dynamics of state-capital relations and the politics of poverty reduction
- Indian foreign policy and strategic studies
- Society and economy in India, including the role of caste in structuring social and economic life.
Most of our research is comparative – sub-national and cross-national – in nature. We explore and explain India’s substantial internal diversity, as well as compare India with other countries in South Asia and beyond the region.
Since 2011, we have received over £2.5 million in research funding from the British Academy, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), European Commission, Leverhulme Trust, and UK India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI).
USF International Fellowship scheme for urban scholars from the Global South
The King's India Institute is supporting the Urban Studies Foundation International Fellowship scheme for urban scholars from the Global South. The Fellowship covers the costs of a sabbatical period at a university of the candidate’s choice in the Global North or South for the purpose of writing-up the candidate’s existing research findings in the form of publishable articles and/or a book under the guidance of a chosen mentor in their field of study. Funding is available for a period ranging between 3-9 months, and the proposed research may comprise any theme pertinent to a better understanding of urban realities in the Global South.