Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development

We are the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, commonly known as CRRID, in Chandigarh. Established as an autonomous scientific and educational charitable society in July 1978, our centre brings together social science research, publication, training and development-related inquiry. Our work has a particular connection with northwestern India while addressing questions that also matter in wider national and international settings.

Our institutional activities include the Population Research Centre, research supported through the Indian Council of Social Science Research and the Government of Punjab, and a Reserve Bank of India Chair. The Population Research Centre was sanctioned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 1986. Its work concerns population studies and the evaluation of demographic and health programmes, with an emphasis on northern India and Punjab. The RBI Chair supports economic research, including regional development, credit and financial inclusion.

Our research themes encompass rural development, poverty, local government, urban governance, health, education and gender. Other areas include industrial growth, environmental change, migration, border-area development and conflict resolution. These subjects connect economic and demographic questions with the social and political conditions in which development takes place. Empirical studies and policy inputs are important parts of the centre's work.

The CRRID library supports this research environment with social science collections and reference material. Its resources include demographic, economic and statistical publications, as well as material on education, history, political science, sociology and environmental studies. Reference services, documentation, bibliographies and inter-library access help researchers locate relevant evidence. The centre also publishes books and a journal and hosts academic events. Our location on Madhya Marg in Sector 19-A places these research, publication and discussion activities within Chandigarh's institutional community.