Department of Applied Research, established in 1976 under the Faculty of Rural Development, plays a key role in enabling the Institute to achieve its overall objective of rural development by promoting interdisciplinary, problem-solving, and development research. The department offers B.A. (Hons) in Demography and Development Studies, PG Diploma in Applied Gerontology, and Ph.D. programmes apart from teaching Research Methods and Applied Statistics courses to UG, PG, and Ph.D. programmes of the Institute. The thrust areas of academia are Interdisciplinary and Policy Research, Human Rights and Labour Research, Gender Issues and Emancipatory Research, Population and Reproductive Health, Ecological and Development Indicators, Rural and Tribal Health & Qualitative and Trans-disciplinary Research.