An India fellowship chair will be set up at the prestigious Royal Institute of International Affairs in London for conducting research on 'The Global Position of India in 2010'.

"The two-year research programme will cost 100,000 pounds and half of it will be subsidised by the institute popularly known as the Chatham House," Raj Loomba, a trustee of the institute, said at a luncheon hosted to raise funds for the project at the House of Lords.

The research will tap the contribution of the 20 million-strong Indian diaspora, the economic and political impact they have made and India's increasing global contribution through technological revolution.

Lord Marshall, Chairman of the Chatham House, said the Royal Institute was an authoritative entity on international affairs and the research would help India get the 'focus and attention its deserves' at the international level.

Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas of the institute said India was very important for Chatham House and he was happy that the Asia programme, launched last year, was branching out for a proper focus on the country.

Last year, the institute had, in collaboration with the Cambridge University, focused on China.

"It is important now to study global position of India in the next few years. China and India account for one third of the world's population," the professor said.

Bulmer-Thomas also expressed hope that the fellowship, instituted initially for a two-year period, would become a permanent feature of the institute.

Lord Navnit Dholakia, a non-resident Indian and president of the Liberal Democrats, said, "They (the Indian diaspora) are indeed now global citizens and the research would help in determining the value of the intellectual property India has acquired through them."

Raj Loomba said he would raise 50,000 pounds towards the fellowship.

The move comes on the heels of setting up the India chair at Oxford.