Concern grows over future of GIDS as faculty, researcher posts vacant

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GIDS is a national research institute of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and is jointly funded by the State government. File | Photo Credit: www.gids.org.in

A shortage of faculty and researchers at Lucknow-based Giri Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) has led to growing concern among academicians and policy makers about the future of the only institution of national importance status in the region which find significant place in the policy making of Uttar Pradesh.

GIDS is a national research institute of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and is jointly funded by the State government.

The 371 report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, on the Review of Autonomous Bodies and Institutions under the Department of Higher Education, published on December 2025, highlighted the issues. It noted that only nine out of 18 sanctioned faculty posts are filled, and only one out of 11 sanctioned posts of permanent research staff is currently filled. The crisis deepens as no permanent appointment has taken place in the institution since 2016, and the promotion of serving faculty members has been pending for roughly a decade. 

A GIDS faculty member, speaking to The Hindu on condition of anonymity, said his rightful promotion has been pending for a decade. “The crisis is not only of appointment but also of promotion for permanent faculty; my promotion as Professor is due since a decade. But administrative issues are impacting the whole process. The institute invites/advertise positions of Research Associate and Research Assistant purely on temporary basis for projects, it impacts the productivity as at times temporary researcher leaves after finding better opportunity elsewhere.”

To meet requirements, the institution invites applications for purely contractual positions, initially for eleven months, which may be extended contingent on satisfactory performance and the Institute’s requirements and availability of funds. The Hindu sent a detailed questionnaire to the Director of the institute but failed to get a response. The website of the institute mentions detailed list of eight faculty members. 

GIDS was established in 1973 as an autonomous research institute on the initiative of some leading social scientists and eminent personalities. In 1977, the institute was recognised as an institution of national importance in the field of social science research based on the recommendations of a Visiting Committee constituted by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). GIDS was, accordingly, brought under the scheme of regular financial assistance of the ICSSR, the apex body of the Government of India for research in the social and human sciences. Since then, the Institute has been regularly receiving financial support from the ICSSR and the Government of Uttar Pradesh, through the Planning Department, on a matching basis.

Critics allege a systematic undermining of higher research and learning institutions in various ways by the ruling regime. “The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS] and the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] are primarily weakening India’s premier academic and research bodies, as the ruling dispensation is against the idea of critical thinking, which is prompted in the humanities. The shortage of faculty and researchers in Giri Institute of Development Studies [GIDS], a premier centre for advanced research in Lucknow, should be seen in that perspective; it is a systematic project to dismantle research-based academic institutions,” said Vibhuti Narain Rai, a former vice-chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University, Wardha and author.

“Autonomous academic institutions like GIDS play a crucial role in providing vital information on the government’s performance in key sectors such as employment, poverty alleviation, rural-urban migration and regional disparities in development. However, since 2014, the BJP government has systematically undermined these institutions in various ways. The most common tactic has been to leave positions vacant, as seen with GIDS. The consequences are now evident: a growing trust deficit in government statistics. Recent examples include the revised GDP figures and the sudden spike in sugar prices due to a revision in sugar and sugarcane production,” said Sudhir Panwar, a former member of the Planning Commission, Uttar Pradesh. 

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