The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) was established in 1956. It has established itself as the premier Institute for training and research in Population Studies for developing countries in the Asia and Pacific region. IIPS holds a unique position among all the regional centres, in that it was the first such centre to be started, and serves a much larger population than that served by any of the other regional centres. The Institute is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.