Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune

Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) is one of the oldest institutions for economics teaching and research in India. It was founded in 1930 by the Late Shri Rao Bahadur R. R. Kale M.L.C. of Satara as a centre for higher learning and research in economics. It is named after the great Indian nationalist leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915). The University Grants Commission declared it to be a deemed University on May 9th, 1993 which was also the birth date of its founder. The institute offers academic programs like M.A in Economics and Ph.D. The Institute has a serene and beautiful campus of 5.25 acres (21,200 m2) and is located in the urban setting of Pune in Deccan Gymkhana area. The residential campus of the Institute comprising faculty and staff houses, guest houses, and the student dormitories, is built on a separate plot of 5.39 acres (21,800 m2), a few metres away from the Institute. On the Fergusson Hill behind the Institute lies the spot where Gokhale took the vows of the Servants of India Society – poverty, obedience, and service to nation - and administered them to three others.

The library of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, has one of the largest and most important collections of social science documents in India. It has quite a large member of publications on Economics and allied social science subjects and successfully caters to the needs of scholars, academicians, policy makers and other users working in social science subjects in India and abroad. Though attached to GIPE, the library extends membership to outsiders also and thereby performs the dual function of an academic and a public library as well. At present the Library possesses more than 2.6 lakhs of documents covering all branches of knowledge. The collection of the library includes bound volumes of 1873 journal titles, about 400 unpublished theses and dissertations and some microfilms, floppies, CDs, and maps. The Library is a depository library of the publications of the United Nations and its agencies, the World Bank, the European Economic Community, the International Monetary Fund, and the Government of Canada. Besides books, the Library also receives 445 current periodical titles including almost all leading English language journals.

The institute has a specialized agro-economic research centre established in 1954 and population research centre which was established in 1964. Several faculties in the institute have done important and pioneering research work in the field of agriculture economics and population research. The institute is also venue for various seminars and lectures, delivered by eminent economists and scholars on contemporary and academic economic issues, which expose the students to new ideas and viewpoints.

A large number of students have successfully completed M. A./ M. Phil./ Ph.D. programmes of the Institute and have distinguished themselves in various fields of life. The Association aims at creating a database of all Gokhale Institute alumni, providing a common platform for interaction among the students of the Institute and also between the Institute and its students for exchange of information and assisting the students and scholars of the Institute and members of the Association in their academic pursuits and professional careers.The year 2015-16 was celebrated by the College as its Silver Jubilee Year. The college has done some path breaking work in making education accessible to the minorities and weaker sections of society. Thus today at 25 years the College stands proudly amongst the leading educational institutes of Pune.