Centre for the Study of Developing Societies

The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) is an Indian research institute for social sciences and humanities. It was founded in 1963 by Rajni Kothari and is largely funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research. It is located in New Delhi, close to Delhi University.

In August 2025, the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) issued a show-cause notice to CSDS citing past irregularities and gross violations of grant-in-aid rules. The notice alleged that CSDS released misleading election data related to 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election and gave biased interpretation of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar allegedly aimed at “maligning the reputation and image” of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Provided by Wikipedia