A members-only cooperative hub in the City of London dedicated to unlocking, exploring, and understanding modern India.
ex oriente lux
what is the modern India lab?
The Modern India Lab (MIL), powered by ICfS, is a unique, invitation-only space for researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and investors to converge around India’s present and future. MIL is conceived as a one-stop shop to understand modern India in every dimension: culture and society, economics and business, governance and security, environment and climate, innovation and infrastructure.
A knowledge and research hub
A specialised library and archives devoted to modern India (policy, social science, history, development, etc.), available exclusively to ICfS members.
Regular research briefings, seminars, and colloquia on critical issues facing India and its global connectivity.
A dialogue and engagement platform
Member-only roundtables, workshops, and seminars with Indian policy makers, academics, business leaders, and civil society voices.
High-level events and conferences leveraging ICfS’s convening power in London and India.
Partnerships and collaborations
A bridge between Indian and Western institutions. These can include universities, think tanks, governmental bodies, NGOs, corporations, trade bodies, and foundations.
Facilitating joint research, exchange programmes, fellowships, visiting scholars, and cross-institutional projects.
A business and investment interface
Advisory and matchmaking services connecting investors, venture funds, corporates with Indian innovation and market opportunities.
A sectoral intelligence arm: periodic reports, risk assessments, policy forecasting, scenario modelling on India’s growth sectors.
Support to joint ventures, venture scouting, policy risk navigation, regulatory insight, and due diligence support.
Members community and network
A curated, high-quality membership of scholars, policy thinkers, corporate and finance executives, institutional donors, and government insiders.
A space to network and incubate ideas, projects, philanthropic or strategic investments in India.
Access to the MIL’s internal seminars, closed-door gatherings, study groups, and special member briefings.
Why MIL?
India today stands at the intersection of tremendous promise and complex challenges – from democratic governance and social inclusion to climate stress, technology disruption, regional security, economic transition, and global integration. Yet globally, there is no institution offering a holistic, integrated, India-centric knowledge platform outside India itself.
The MIL addresses that gap by anchoring in London, the global capital of ideas, finance, diplomacy, while remaining deeply connecting with India. It gives Western and Indian stakeholders a shared “home base” to think, act, partner, and invest in India’s present and future.
Who is the MIL for?
- Academic institutions, research centres, universities with South Asia / India focus
- Policy institutions, governmental bodies, think tanks
- International development agencies and NGOs
- Corporates, investors, venture funds, family offices interested in India
- Scholars, PhD candidates, journalists, analysts, cultural institutions
- Diaspora organisations or cultural institutes
Ways to engage and use the mil
- Visit & Use the Space: for quiet study, archival research, meetings, workshops
- Attend Member-Only Events: briefings, seminars, dialogues, closed roundtables
- Propose & Host Events: partner with MIL to host workshops, launches, delegations
- Collaborate & Commission: launch joint research, working groups, fellowships
- Intelligence & Advisory Access: use MIL’s bespoke India insight services
- Network & Access: engage with MIL’s membership network for partnerships, funding, talent
