The Forum for Ethics Review Committees in India (FERCI) is set up as a registered society under the Registrar General of India as the Indian Chapter of FERCAP (Forum for Ethics Review Committees in Asia Pacific), an initiative by the WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). The objective of FERCI is to foster an improved understanding and implementation of ethical review of biomedical research studies in India. FERCI strives to achieve this goal through:

• Improving communication amongst ethics committees,
• Assisting in the development and implementation of standard operating procedures for ethical review,
• Facilitating training opportunities and education of ethics committee members and
• Assisting ethics committees to obtain accreditation from national and international agencies.

FERCI works in close collaboration with national and international organisations (e.g. WHO, Unicef, UNDP, World Bank). It also organises national conferences on contemporary issues in alternate years attended by current and aspiring members of ethics committees.