IICT conducts research in basic and applied chemistry, biochemistry, bioinformatics, chemical engineering and provides science and technology inputs to the industrial and economic development of the country.

[2][3][4] The research and development programmes of IICT relate to the development of technologies for pesticides, drugs, organic intermediates, fine chemicals, catalysts, polymers, organic coatings, use of low-grade coals, and value-added products from vegetable oils.

[5] An example of the institute's work is development of technology for accurate identification, of principal mosquito vector in rural endemic areas for designing suitable control measures of vector-borne diseases like malaria, filaria, Japanese encephalitis, dengue fever, etc.

[6] In developing countries like India, classification and identification of the mosquito species from rural endemic areas are of paramount importance.

The World Health Organization monograph which describes the taxonomic data in the form of a pictorial key is generally difficult to understand by a non-taxonomist.