A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna was founded by the Government of Bihar in memory of Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, one of the architects of modern Bihar. It was inaugurated on the 31st of January, 1958, by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India. It was, however, made a statutory autonomous body on the 8th October, 1964, under the A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies Act, 1964. Broadly speaking, the objectives of the Institute, as laid down in the Act, are as follows :

(a) to undertake teaching and research in social sciences; (b) to undertake study of specific problems, if and when required by the State Government or the Central Government or any other agency; (c) to provide for journals, books, pamphlets and other such materials as may be deemed necessary; (d) to organise lectures, seminars and conferences, and (e) to undertake other allied activities.

The research interest of the Institute broadly converges on development and change, with special reference to Bihar and the Eastern region. Efforts have usually been made towards studying the mechanisms and processes of change in the wake of development, within appropriate theoretical and conceptual frame. Issues and problems within above frame are identified and analysed to find their solutions.

Accordingly, researches of diagnostic, evaluative and prescriptive nature, having relevance to the economy, society, polity of the country in general and the state of Bihar in particular, have found favour with the Institute faculty. Special attention is paid to the study of the under-privileged and the rural poor, especially the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, women, minorities and other socially and economically disadvantaged groups, within the disciplines of Economics, Sociology and Anthropology, Social Psychology, Political Science and Public Administration and Statistics. The Institute has multidisciplinary operational orientation. Efforts are made to take full advantage of the multidisciplinary structures of the Institute faculty. While each one of the disciplines pursues its own research programmes, there are number of projects where members from different disciplines go together to analyse the social process from the angles of the respective disciplines so that an integrated view of the social reality may emerge. Over the years, there has been an appreciable expansion in its activities with a strong multidisciplinary faculty supported by a band of devoted research scholars for undertaking high level research in different branches of social science. Today it is one of the most prestigious social science research Institutes in India. It has been recognised by the Indian Council of Social Research, New Delhi, as the Centre of Excellence in field of social science research. Several international organizations including certain organs of UN like UNICEF, World Bank, ILO, WHO, etc., apart from the State Government and the Government of India, offer their research assignments to this Institute on a priority basis. Over the years, it has been seen as a model institution by the new and upcoming social science research institutions. It is also considered as the most important resource institution both by the government and their organizations. The institute has acquired high states in the scholastic world by virtue of the quality of its academic activities.

Apart from consolidating the research activities, efforts have been made for providing certain basic amenities like improved library services, reprographic facilities, duplicating facilities, conference and public address system, audio-visual appliances etc. A developed computer centre caters to the needs of empirical and applied researches and for organizing data bank.

1. Research of one's own done by the academic staff.
2. Research for the degree of PhD. Undertaken by Doctoral Fellows and other research scholars, supervised by the academic staff.
3. Research projects initiated by the institute on social and economic matters, relating specially to Bihar, and
4. Research projects sponsored and financed by external agencies including the ICSSR, NCER, Government of India, Government of Bihar, various public sector undertakings, different international bodies like the UNO, World Bank, ILO, WHO, UNICEF, IDRC, etc.