The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world.

The ICMR is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In 2007, the organization established the Clinical Trials Registry - India, which is India's national registry for clinical trials.

ICMR's 26 national institutes conduct research on specific health topics like tuberculosis, leprosy, cholera and diarrhoeal diseases, viral diseases including AIDS, malaria, kala-azar, vector control, nutrition, food & drug toxicology, reproduction, immuno-haematology, oncology, medical statistics, etc. Its 6 regional medical research centres focus on regional health problems, and also aim to strengthen or generate research capabilities in different geographic areas of the country.

The council's research priorities coincide with national health priorities such as control and management of communicable diseases, fertility control, maternal and child health, control of nutritional disorders, developing alternative strategies for health care delivery, containment within safety limits of environmental and occupational health problems; research on major non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, blindness, diabetes and other metabolic and haematological disorders; mental health research and drug research (including traditional remedies). These efforts are undertaken with a view to reduce the total burden of disease and to promote health and well-being of the population.

In 1911, the Government of India set up the Indian Research Fund Association (IRFA) with the specific objective of sponsoring and coordinating medical research in the country. After independence, several important changes were made in the organisation and the activities of IRFA. It was redesignated as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 1949, with a considerably expanded scope of functions.

The governing body of the council is presided over by the Union Health Minister. It is assisted in scientific and technical matters by a scientific advisory board comprising eminent experts in different biomedical disciplines. The board, in its turn, is assisted by a series of scientific advisory groups, scientific advisory committees, expert groups, task forces, steering committees etc. which evaluate and monitor different research activities of the council.

The council promotes biomedical research in the country through intramural as well as extramural research. Over the decades, the base of extramural research and also its strategies have been expanded by the council.

Intramural research is carried out currently through the council's 30 permanent research institutes/centres which are mission-oriented national institutes located in different parts of India. The institutes pursue specific areas of research such as COVID-19, tuberculosis, leprosy, cholera and diarrhoeal diseases, viral diseases including Rotavirus, dengue, COVID-19, Ebolavirus, Influenza, Japanese encephalitis, AIDS, malaria, kala-azar, vector control, nutrition, food & drug toxicology, reproduction, immunohaematology, oncology, and medical statistics. Six Regional Medical Research Centres address regional health problems, and also aim to strengthen or generate research capabilities in different geographic areas of the country. It has also been involved in research related to rare diseases like Handigodu syndrome.^{[citation needed]}