In 2003, as a result of a successful endowment drive and campaign, championed by CASI’s International Advisory Board, the Madan Lal Sobti Chair for the Study of Contemporary India was established at Penn under terms that ensure the permanence of the Center at the University. This has led to the establishment of additional endowed funds and term gifts for further developing CASI programs, including the Visiting Scholars/Fellows Program and vibrant student programs, including the Annual Summer Travels Funds Competition to send Penn students to India.
CASI has also substantially expanded its sponsored research program and is gaining recognition for generating high-quality empirical research and analyses, building rigorous and innovative data sets, and creating long-term collaborations with Indian academics, policymakers and practitioners working close to the ground on critical and understudied aspects of India’s economic transition, the well-being of socially marginalized groups, migration, human capital, governance and politics, and security and foreign policy.