New Delhi, Sep 6 - The Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), the internal think-tank of the ministry of external affairs, is turning a corner by becoming a research body, linking up with universities and updating its treasure trove of a library. Soon it will bring issue briefs and discussion papers under the brand name 'Sapru House Papers'.

Located at the historic Sapru House near Connaught Place, ICWA is changing direction from being just a platform of discussions and seminars to hosting its own full-fledged research faculty.

'We decided that research is a priority for ICWA. Therefore, we have recently hired six researchers,' Sudhir Tukaram Devare, director general of ICWA, told IANS in an interview.

Recently, for the first time in its history, it hired six full-time researchers and created the position of a director of research. Vijay Sakhuja, a maritime security expert, has been roped in for the post.

Devare also plans to forge links with universities. 'We are going to Hyderabad to organise a seminar with Osmania, then also linking up with the Sikkim and Calcutta universities,' said Devare, who retired as secretary (East) in the MEA in 2001.

In the newly created job for just over a month, it has been busy days for Sakhuja as he tries to build up a research faculty from scratch and hopes to soon start cranking off papers on a regular basis.

'By 2010, we plan to have a full strength faculty of 20 scholars, including visiting fellows,' he said.

The research wing, which was earlier used as a store in Sapru House, is being extensively renovated with a conference room and networked rooms for the researchers.

'Our research fellows, all of whom hold doctorates, are looking at areas like Northeast Asia, China, South Asia and West Asia. Eventually, we would also be bringing out papers on newer disciplines like climate change and non-traditional security,' said Sakhuja.

Within six months, ICWA will not just start publishing issue briefs and policy briefs but also bring out major discussion papers, calling them Sapru House Papers. 'The first Sapru House paper will be on Indonesia, which should come out in mid-October,' he said.

The researchers will also have the advantage of interacting with foreign ministry officials, with plans to invite territorial desk heads to ICWA for discussions.