MIDS is an academic and research institution located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in 1971 abd become part of the ICSSR institutions in 1977. It is autonomous institution, governed by a Governing Council, but supported by the Central and the State Government of Tamil Nadu. It has 20 faculty members and 32 supportive staff. It has a strong PhD program, which currently has an enrollement of 28 students, who are in various stages of their doctoral program.