Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science

The Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science (LNJN NICFS) sits under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is one of India''s most senior centres for police training in scientific investigation. Established in 1971 as the Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science and renamed in 1991 after Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, it serves both as a teaching institution and as a principal training arm for the central and state police forces in modern investigative methods.

Why it matters for students: NICFS is unusual in that its student community mixes civilian researchers in criminology and forensic science with serving IPS officers, judicial officers, and investigators on training assignments. That cross-flow shapes its courses. The academic programmes run alongside hundreds of short-term training courses every year for police, prosecutors, and prison administrators.

At a glance:

• Type: Central institute under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India)
• Established: 1971 (renamed LNJN NICFS in 1991)
• Headed by: Director (typically a senior IPS officer)
• Location: Outer Ring Road, Sector 3, Rohini, New Delhi
• Affiliation for academic degrees: Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU)
• Programmes: M.A. Criminology, M.Sc. Forensic Science, Ph.D., diploma courses, and continuing-education programmes for serving officers

For aspirants targeting careers in central forensic labs, the CBI''s forensic divisions, or research roles in criminology, NICFS is one of the few places where the curriculum is built end-to-end around investigative practice rather than only laboratory technique.