India’s global research impact: What editors and publishers need to know
Author: Ritu Dhand
Chief Scientific Officer
India is emerging as a key contributor in volume and quality to global research and publishing. In the second report of the Global Research Pulse series, we explore India’s maturing and increasingly influential research environment and offer insights to editors on how to better assess this research. Get a taste of what’s in the report, from research publication data to insights on how to identify research excellence.
The globalisation of research is accelerating. In Springer Nature’s Global Research Pulse series, we share insights and tools to support editors in this rapidly evolving and diverse landscape. The second report in the series focuses on India’s journey to attain high quality global research impact with a detailed assessment of sub-disciplinary research quality.
It explores the strategic investments, institutional reforms, and international collaborations India has undertaken that have enabled it to achieve this status. To support editors in navigating India’s large and diverse research landscape, in the report we also share sources for identifying research excellence in India.
This report on India joins the first report in the series which analyses China’s steady improvement in research quality and offers insights on effective engagement with it. We believe that it is best practice for academic publishing to reflect the evolving global research landscape, and aim to empower editors and publishers to engage with emerging and influential research systems across the globe.
India’s growth in publication volume as well as quality and impact
Research from India is the second-largest source of submissions to Springer Nature journals, and globally, India is the third-highest contributor to research. Looking at total article count, India is the second-fastest-growing nation, having increased its research output almost six-fold over the last decade and a half.
In the report, we show that this growth is not limited to publication volume. The impact and quality of India’s research are steadily increasing, and India has strong representation in internationally respected journals. It is the third-highest contributor to the top 10% highly cited articles, and ranks among the top three nations for high-impact research in applied, physical, and life sciences. Indeed, nearly 70% of all articles are published in the top 50% of journals across all subject areas.
Facilitating the growth of Indian research publications: Exploring strategies and policies
India is emerging as a global research player, exhibiting growth in volume and quality of research output. In the report, we discuss the strategies and policies that facilitate this growth:
- Investments into research and development (R&D) While India has been increasing its R&D spending over the past three decades, it remains low overall compared to the size of its economy. But its relatively low private sector involvement in this spending suggests that there is room for further quality growth as R&D expands.
- Strengthening international collaboration International collaboration is increasing, with the highest number of papers co-authored with researchers from the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdon, China, and South Korea, and are seen to be delivering impact.
- Supporting higher education Higher education development strategies and policies encourage science and technology education, from school level and beyond, and support the higher education ecosystem long term.
- National commitment to open access India's One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) initiative provides Indian researchers access to academic publications and enables them to benefit from publishing their work open access.
- Upholding research integrity A national focus on research excellence and policies aligned with international norms have meant that India’s significant growth in research volume has not been matched by major research integrity concerns.
Navigating the Indian research landscape: How editors can identify research excellence
With a large and diverse research landscape, identifying research excellence can be challenging to editors. In the report, we share sources that editors can use to identify research excellence across India, to support them in engaging with this important contributor to research.
We introduce formal rankings and explain how they can be useful in comparing institutions internationally. Because institutions in India often have a disciplinary specialty, we cover also rankings for individual disciplines, as well as other publishing tools to explore institutions by specific disciplines.
Empowering editors to promote diversity and quality
Equipped with data and tools, editors and publishers can be a driving force in making the publishing landscape inclusive and representative of the communities it serves.
In the second Global Research Pulse report, we show India’s growing and diverse research landscape, which contributes valuable research across disciplines. The information and insights we share in the report serve to empower editors to engage with it.
By understanding the Indian research landscape and its growth, and knowing how to tap into quality research emerging from India, editors can diversify their content while maintaining high standards. This can encourage collaboration and knowledge exchange, which ultimately benefits the global research ecosystem.
Read the full report Global Research Pulse: India to learn more about India’s research landscape and how you can best engage with it.
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Author: Ritu Dhand
Chief Scientific Officer
Ritu Dhand is Chief Scientific Officer at Springer Nature. She is responsible for championing our editors, focusing on promoting and driving external editorial excellence, in partnership with all the journal publishers across Springer and BMC journals.
Before taking on the role of Chief Scientific Officer in January 2022, Ritu served as VP Nature Editorial, overseeing editorial strategy and management of Nature, Nature Communications, and the Nature Research and Review Journals.
Ritu holds a PhD in cancer research from University College, London.
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