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Commonwealth NGOs
related to forestry | | |
 Council for Social Development
53, Lodi Estate
New Delhi 110003
India
Email: csdnd@del12.vsnl.net.in
Website: www.csdindia.org/
Type: NGO
Scope: national
Interest in Forestry: peripheral
Description
The Council for Social Development came into existence in the year 1962 as an informal study group of
social workers and social scientists having a common interest in working towards a just social
order in India. Between 1963 and 1969, a number of consultations and seminars on pressing social and
developmental issues were organised by this group of eminent scholars under the chairmanship
of Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh, the eminent sociologist and social worker.
In 1964, a formal status was given to the Council as an affiliate study group of the India International
Centre, and in April 1970, it was registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 with Dr.
C.D. Deshmukh as President and Dr. (Smt.) Durgabai Deshmukh as Executive Chairman.
CSD is today one of the leading institutions working in the area of development research in India. Apart
from carrying out pioneering research on developmental issues and concerns, CSD has played
an influential role in voicing social concerns among planners and policy-makers through-out the thirty
five years of its existence.
The main objectives of the Council are to undertake and promote the study of social development through
studies on the national and regional policies of development, on the process of planning, and
on the interaction of social and economic development with various stages of national growth in developing
countries. CSD's long-term goal is to assist in integrating the needs of social development
with those of economic development especially with respect to the needs of the underprivileged sections
of society. CSD works collaboratively with a wide range of non-governmental agencies,
universities, research institutions, governmental departments and international aid agencies, to this
end. CSD researchers work on a wide range of subjects including gender issues, child welfare, forests
and biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, poverty alleviation, urban planning, tribal
welfare, health, governance, caste-based discrimination and education. Council also conducts training
courses on social science research methods.
CSD Delhi is housed in its own building, located in the institutional area of Lodi Estate in central
Delhi, next to the picturesque Lodi Gardens. CSD has a research staff of 24, supported by 26
administrative staff.
CSD also has a regional office in Hyderabad. The Southern Regional Office was established at Hyderabad
to enable more comprehensive coverage of the Council's activities in the South. There are
ten research staff based in Hyderabad, supported by twelve administrative and other staff. An Integrated
Micro-Project Applied Research and Training (IMPART) Centre was established in 1985 as
an integral part of the Southern Regional Office of the CSD at Hyderabad. The main functions of the
Centre are to conduct applied micro-level research and training.
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