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The new subscription model will open the research journals to all state-public institutions across India, with an additional annual outlay of Rs 850 crore, benefiting nearly 1.8 crore researchers, compared to just 57 lakhs earlier.
A key highlight is that all researchers will be able to read all journals, regardless of their discipline to promote multi-disciplinary research. (Representative Image: Shutterstock)
Over 6,000 state-funded universities, affiliated colleges and other research institutions across the country will now gain access to as many as 13,400 international journals under the government’s new scheme – ‘One Nation, One Subscription’. Phase One of the Rs 6,000 crore scheme will begin on January 1st, 2025.
At present, the government spends about Rs 1,000 crores annually on international journal subscriptions through various library consortiums, but covers just 8,079 journal titles. This access is also limited to just 2,360 institutions in India, leaving researchers in many government universities, and colleges deprived, as they already struggle to access these journals due to limited budgets.
The new subscription model will open them to all state-public institutions across India, with an additional annual outlay of Rs 850 crore, benefiting nearly 1.8 crore researchers, compared to just 57 lakhs earlier. “The phase-one to be executed over next three years will grant access to all the central and state-funded universities and colleges across India. After that, we plan to extend it to private institutions, and eventually target universal access through all designated access points in all public in phase three,” said Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA), Professor Ajay Sood on Tuesday.
This is for the first time that the government has successfully struck an agreement with 30 of the biggest publishers in STEM, management, social sciences and humanities, including Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor and Francis, BMJ Journals, Cambridge University Press as well as Sage publishing for subscriptions.
FIRST-SUCH SUBSCRIPTION MODEL IN INDIA
Around Rs 1,850 crores will be spent on the national subscriptions till 2027. Registered students can read these journals on their laptops/mobile phones by logging into their institution portal available through the UGC-provided Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre in all universities.
A key highlight is that all researchers will be able to read all journals, regardless of their discipline to promote multi-disciplinary research. “Knowledge is not in silos. You may be a historian, but you may want to read about what is happening in science, or vice-versa. This scheme will enable that. This is the first-such subscription model that India has been able to achieve,” said senior scientist Professor Virander S Chauhan who played a pivotal role in the deliberations with global publishers.
Professor Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST) highlighted the scheme does not restrict institutions from seeking access to more journals if they feel the need, and they are welcome to do so independently. “But, the 30 publishers selected under the scheme cover over 95 per cent of the published work in journals, more or less. Our aim is to enhance the access to all knowledge resources,” he added.
The scheme will benefit a total of 6,380 government, academic and research & development institutions, which includes 557 universities, 172 institutions of national importance, 4864 colleges, 114 research councils and institutes, and 673 institutions under various government ministries and departments.
SUPPORTING RESEARCHERS PUBLISH IN LEADING JOURNALS
As a pilot project, a central fund of Rs 150 crore/year has also been earmarked under the scheme to support researchers who are looking to publish papers in selected high-quality international journals. Since the researchers have to pay exorbitant charges in the form of Article Processing Charges (APC), discussions have also been held to facilitate a discount on the APCs for Indian authors.
“We are in the process of making guidelines on how these funds for APCs will be disbursed, but we can assure that we will develop a transparent method for selection of the journals, and beneficiaries,” added Professor Sood.
The senior scientists also allayed concerns over potential competition with Indian journals, and said parallel efforts will be made to provide more visibility to Indian journals as well. Most Indian journals including those published by Indian National Science Academy, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are published under open-access, and can be read by anybody without any restrictions.
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