One Nation, One Subscription

 

 

 

Context

The Indian government recently approved the ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ (ONOS) scheme, aiming to provide equal access to scholarly journals across all public institutions.

  • The scheme, with a budget of ₹6,000 crore over three years (2025-2027), is intended to democratise knowledge by making research articles accessible regardless of institutional prestige or financial capacity.
  • However, the move has sparked debates about its feasibility and relevance in the global shift toward Open Access (OA) publishing.

 

Relevance:
GS-02 (Government policies and interventions)

 

Dimensions of the Article

  • What is ‘One Nation, One Subscription’?
  • What are the challenges?
  • Significance of ONOS

 

 

 

What is ‘One Nation, One Subscription’?

  • The scheme is coordinated by the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) under the University Grants Commission (UGC).
  • The objective of the initiative is to ensure equitable access to research articles for all public institutions in India, benefiting especially those in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
  • Earlier, it was on a ‘pay to read’ model, where libraries and institutes paid fees to access published research.
  • The scheme targets to benefit more than 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers from over 6,300 institutions to enhance access to international journals, boosting India’s visibility in global research communities.
  • Current Scenario:
    • India spends around ₹1,500-₹2,000 crore annually on journal subscriptions.
    • ONOS proposes to centralise these costs under one subscription plan for the entire country.

 

What are the challenges?

  • Shift Toward Open Access (OA):
    • Over 53% of global research articles are already freely available.
    • Major countries like the U.S. and EU mandate publicly funded research to be OA by 2026, making subscription models less relevant.
  • Financial and ethical concerns:
    • High subscription fees are paid to Western publishers, many of which operate on a profit margin exceeding 30%.
    • Researchers often relinquish copyrights, allowing publishers to profit without fair compensation to the authors.
  • Dependence on Western Publishers:
    • India’s infrastructure and expertise in academic publishing remain underutilised.
    • ONOS risks reinforcing reliance on foreign publishing monopolies instead of fostering local innovation.
  • Inadequate Long-Term Preservation:
    • Many research articles lack proper digital archiving, risking loss of scientific knowledge.
  • Exclusion of Article Processing Charges (APC):
    • Researchers publishing in Open Access journals must pay high APCs, which ONOS does not cover.

Significance of ONOS

  • Democratisation of Knowledge: Ensures small institutions with limited budgets can access the same resources as elite ones.
  • Potential for Better Research: Enhanced access to journals may improve the quality of Indian research and innovation.
  • Global Collaboration: Aligns India’s research ecosystem with international standards, fostering global partnerships.

Way Forward

  • Mandates should be made to adopt and enforce a nationwide ‘rights retention’ policy to allow researchers to self-archive their work (green OA) and also to keep it open to access for publicly funded research.
  • It is equally important to improve Indian journals’ quality, visibility, and editorial processes to reduce the dependency on Western publishers.
  • Revise Financial Strategy: Reassess the ₹6,000 crore allocation considering the growing availability of OA content.
    • Focus funding on innovation rather than sustaining outdated subscription models.
  • The government must implement policies to safeguard researchers’ copyrights, preventing unauthorised use of their work.

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