We demand better from our data.

The Institute of India was founded on a singular premise: public discourse in the world's largest democracy is severely constrained by a lack of accessible, unspun data. Policy debates are too often driven by emotional appeals rather than empirical reality.

Our Methodology

We do not conduct primary surveys. Instead, we act as a rigorous aggregator and interpreter of existing public datasets. Our raw inputs come from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the Election Commission, and verified multilateral institutions like the World Bank and IMF.

When we build a tool or publish a brief, we state our assumptions clearly. We provide direct links to the raw data sources. If a government dataset is flawed, delayed, or discontinued (as was the case with the Consumer Expenditure Survey for several years), we note the structural breaks and advise caution rather than smoothing the curve.

Funding & Independence

We are entirely funded by independent academic grants and reader subscriptions. We accept zero funding from corporate entities, political parties, or government contracts. This structural independence is not just a talking point; it is the prerequisite for our work.