Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics - GIPE

About Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics - GIPE

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. It has become a landmark because of the erection of a column there. Gokhale’s bungalow still stands in the precincts of the campus. A massive and graceful banyan tree adds to the charm of the place. This is said to be the tree under which Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Mahatma Gandhi (who regarded Gokhale as his political guru) used to muse over political issues in their times.

Location - The Institute is located in the premises of the Servants of India Society. GIPE Campus is about 6 kms. from the Railway Station and can safely be reached by auto-rickshaws or taxi round the clock at a reasonable charge of Rs.40/- and Rs.60/- respectively (approximate rates). GIPE is near Fergusson College in the Deccan Gymkhana area. Map Location on Google.

Transportation

• The Railway Station of Pune is well connected by trains from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Patna and all other major cities of the country. The journey will take approximately 3-4 hours to reach Pune from Mumbai by train.  
• Pune airport is connected mainly by domestic flights from most of the major cities of the India .The nearest international airport to Pune is Mumbai. It takes half an hour to reach Pune from Mumbai. Distance from Pune airport to the city is approximately 12-14 kms.  

For details about train and flight schedules, you may visit the following websites:

• Indian Railways - http://indianrail.gov.in
• Air India - http://www.airindia.in/
• Jet Airways - http://www.jetairways.com
• Air Sahara - http://www.saharaairlines.co.in

Departments / Faculty

1. Politics.
2. Economics.
3. Social Science.

Facilities

Hostels - There are two hostels, one for boys and another for girls. Adequate hostel accommodation is available for the existing students. The girls’ hostel was designed by the famous architect and urban planner Christopher Charles Benninger during 1996-1998.

Dhananjayarao Gadgil Library - 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.

Research - 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.

Placement Cell - The placement cell in GIPE has been playing a catalytic role for the placements of our students in divergent fields and provides avenues for their promising future prospects.

Artha Vijnana - Artha Vijnana, started in March 1959, is a quarterly journal of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. This is a refereed journal which publishes results of current work by the staff members of the Institute as well as contributions from outside scholars on economics and other social sciences. 2008 was a momentous year more pompously, the Golden Jubilee year.  It is one of the few Indian journals in economics and social sciences, which could come along with time hitherto unstinted for full fifty years.

Alumni Association - 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.

Achievements

• The Institute was accredited it with A+ (grade) (score 90-95%) for a period of five years by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council on, and with effect from January 8, 2004.