India has emerged as a hub for education and research in the last few decades. From healthcare to agriculture, Indian researchers and students have made outstanding contributions to science and society. Behind these achievements are research institutes, which provide students and scientists with the tools, training, and facilities to explore new ideas and make discoveries.

Without these institutes, progress in medicine, agriculture, technology, and space exploration would not have been possible.

Role of Research in India’s Development

Research is the backbone of innovation. It goes beyond studying theories and helps in solving real-world problems.

• New Discoveries – Helps scientists find causes of diseases, chemical properties of new minerals, or new technologies for farming.
• Improving Lives – Medical research has created vaccines, medicines, and treatments for deadly diseases.
• Supporting Economy – Agricultural research boosts crop productivity, which directly supports India’s farmers and food security.
• Global Reputation – Institutes like ISRO and TIFR have put India on the world map of science and technology.

Classification of Indian Research Institutes

India has 216 research institutes, classified into eight categories based on the field of study.

Industry	No. of Institutes
Agriculture	66
Biological & Medical	60
Engineering	23
Physical & Mathematical	16
Earth Sciences	16
Materials, Metallurgy & Minerals	9
Chemical Sciences	9
Multi-disciplinary	17

Top Research Institutes in India

Agricultural Research Institutes

Institute	Specialization / Focus
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi	Green Revolution, crop research
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research	Fruits, vegetables, horticulture
Agharkar Research Institute	Plant sciences, biotechnology
National Research Centre on Meat	Meat processing & safety
National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal	Dairy & milk products
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)	Plant genetic diversity
Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun	Forestry & environment
Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding	Forest biodiversity
Tropical Forest Research Institute	Tropical forests
Central Soil Salinity Research Institute	Saline & dryland farming
Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI)	Veterinary sciences
Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)	Marine fisheries
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology	Fishing technology
Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture	Freshwater aquaculture
Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies	Fisheries education & research
Central Avian Research Institute	Poultry & bird research
Central Potato Research Institute	Potato cultivation & improvement
Central Plantation Crops Research Institute	Coconut, arecanut, cashew
Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology	Food processing
Indian Institute of Vegetable Research	Vegetables research
Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute	Sheep & wool
National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources	Fish genetics
Indian Institute of Spices Research	Spices research
Central Institute for Cotton Research	Cotton & textiles
Sugarcane Breeding Institute	Sugarcane improvement
National Institute of Plant Genome Research	Plant genetics
Indian Institute of Pulses Research	Pulses & legumes
National Research Centre for Groundnut	Groundnut
Directorate of Soybean Research	Soybean
Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering	Farm machinery & engineering
Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture	Dryland farming
Central Research Institute for Jute & Allied Fibres	Jute & fibre crops

Biological and Medical Research Institutes

Institute	Specialization / Focus
Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai	Cancer research
National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune	Virology & vaccines
National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Haryana	Neurology & brain research
National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad	Nutrition sciences
Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad	Genetics & biotechnology
Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine	Herbal & pharma research
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology	Genetic engineering
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad	Molecular biology
National Institute of Immunology (NII), Delhi	Immunology
Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB)	Genomics
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi	Medical research & education
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)	Apex medical research body
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Tech.	Cardiac & biomedical research
Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow	Drug development
Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata	Biomedicine
Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology	Biotech research
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata	Animal taxonomy & classification
National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru	Biology & ecology

Chemical Science Research Organisations

Institute	Specialization / Focus
National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune	Chemistry & materials
Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad	Chemicals & pharma
Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavnagar	Salt & marine chemicals
Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun	Fuels & petrochemicals
Central Electrochemical Research Institute	Electrochemistry
National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER)	Pharmacy & pharma education
Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali	Nanotechnology

Physical and Mathematical Sciences

Institute	Specialization / Focus
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata	Statistics & data science
Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru	Astrophysics & optics
S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata	Physics
National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Delhi	Measurement standards
Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai	Mathematics
Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad	Space & atmospheric sciences
Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital	Astronomy
Inter-University Accelerator Centre	Nuclear physics

Earth & Environmental Research Institutes

Institute	Specialization / Focus
National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai	Ocean technology
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa	Antarctic studies
National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa	Oceanography
National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad	Geophysics
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun	Himalayan geology
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow	Fossil plants & palaeobotany
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Delhi	Energy & environment
Indian School of Mines (IIT-ISM), Dhanbad	Mining & earth sciences
National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee	Water resources
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)	Ocean data services