The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) is a society registered under Act XXI of 1860 and the corresponding State Act viz. the West Bengal State Registration Act 1961, with its headquarters at 2A & B, Raja S. C. Mallick Road, Calcutta - 700 032, West Bengal, India. It has a Governing Council with a number of members elected or nominated and the Registrar as its Non-Member Secretary. The Council has the functions, duties and power as envisaged in the Memorandum and Bye Laws and as per the provisions of the relevant Act.

Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) is a premier Scientific Research Institute located in Kolkata. Founded in the year 1876 by Dr. Mahendralal Sircar, an acclaimed medical practitioner of his time, IACS is the oldest scientific institution in Asia funded by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India and the Government of West Bengal. Sir C.V. Raman made his historic discovery of ‘Raman Effect’ at IACS. It continues to adorn the mantle of academic and intellectual excellence in India and abroad. The various laboratories at every corner of this great institution reverberate with the resounding legacy of the unparalleled scientific excellence for which this city is proud of. For the benefit of all of you, I take this opportunity to briefly summarize our institute’s glorious past, an eloquent present and an ambitious future.

The latter half of the nineteenth century witnessed an intellectual renaissance in undivided Bengal. During this time, when there were almost no noteworthy institution in the country to impart quality education in science and culture, several eminent personalities from diverse disciplines committed themselves to the cause of institution building. One such personality was Mahendralal Sircar, who was educated as a medical practitioner and was a personal physician of the renowned sage Rama Krishna Paramahansa Deb. But he had a mission to establish an institution where “lectures on scientific subjects will be systematically delivered”. Mahendralal's cherished dream took shape when the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science was inaugurated at the 12, Bowbazar Street campus on July 29, 1876. The founder secretary to the Association was Mahendralal himself, with the first Trustee Board comprising persons like Pandit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar and Keshab Chandra Sen. During the early years, the IACS received handsome patronage from other eminent personalities of that time like Sri Gurudas Banerjee, Raja Rajendralal Mitra, Sir Surendranath Banerjee and Raja Peary Mohan Mukherjee. The original mandate of delivering lectures in science was materialized soon when Father Lafont, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, Sir Asutosh Mookerjee and Rai Bahadur Chunilal Bose began teaching in the Association.

A modest beginning, but an ambitious foresight, saw the Association catapult into a centre of repute, which found Mahendralal's creation firmly embedded into the history of science in India. The pinnacle of success was soon to be attained with the discovery of the Raman Effect and quick to follow was the recognition of Nobel Prize. Streams of luminaries who were associated with the institute were stalwarts like Sir Nilratan Sircar, Sir Jnan Chandra Ghosh, Dr. Syamaprasad Mookerjee, Professor Satyandranath Bose and Professor M.N. Saha. Raman's legacy of excellence in physics was aptly carried forward in IACS first by Professor K.S. Krishnan and later by Professor Kedareshwar Banerjee.

In 1946 the Association embarked upon a new development plan under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Meghnad Saha envisaging the creation of an active research school for investigation on the problems continuing with the fundamental studies in X-rays, Optics, Magnetism, and Raman Effect in which the Association had specialized in early years. A new campus was opened at Jadavpur which became a sprawling complex of educational research and industrial establishments, where the laboratories were shifted from Bowbazar Street. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy played a key role to provide the land for the new campus in Jadavpur through a gazette notification of November 20, 1947 of the Government of West Bengal. By 26th February 1948 Dr. M. N. Saha with the help of prominent architects in Calcutta prepared a master plan of the Jadavpur Campus of IACS.

Today 141 years after its inception, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, continues to adorn the mantle of academic and intellectual excellence in India and abroad and now stands at the crossroad of a critical era. Apart from fundamental researches in the various frontier areas of physics and chemistry, IACS has ventured in a significant way, for the past few years, into the emerging multidisciplinary areas such as non-conventional energy sources, advanced and novel nano-materials, chemical biology and interdisciplinary sciences. The institute wishes to consolidate in the fields it has long-established reputations, and at the same time looks forward to integrating them to the emerging areas.

Now it is an autonomous research institution headed by a Governing Council. Apart from grants-in-aid received from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and Government of West Bengal, Scientists at IACS arranges extramural funding for carrying out their research in diverse areas of basic and application oriented science. IACS also hosts industrial projects and receives private donations. At present, IACS has more than 400 research students/associates working under the guidance of about 67 faculty members working in physics, chemistry and biology, with an annual budgetary outlay of about Rs 112.44 crores during the current fiscal year. The present Director of the Institute is Professor Santanu Bhattacharya. The Institute has dynamic programmes for the pursuit of research leading to the doctoral degree and for post-doctoral work and has Visiting Scientists Scheme. There is an excellent library, good computing facilities and the campus is equipped with all modern facilities and amenities.