One Nation One Subscription: countrywide equitable access to scholarly journals in India

by LibCognizance in Free access to journals, Indian scheme, one nation one subscription, ONOS, ONOS scheme

An announcement of a landmark decision of Indian Government to introduce ‘One Nation One subscription’ scheme for youths and students by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw have brought a new zeal in young scholars deprived of scholarly journals behind paywalls. In response to the Prime minister Shri Narendra Modi's clarion call of "Jai Anusandhan" on the occasion of 15th August, 2022, vision of making India Atmanirbhar and Viksitbharat@2047, and also to achieve the goal of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 the Union Cabinet has approved One Nation One Subscription scheme to offer seamless, country-wide access to international high impact scholarly research articles and journal publications to students, faculty and researchers of all Higher Education Institutions managed by the central government and state governments and Research & Development Institutions of the central government. The scheme is expected to provide broader access to research journals for institutions that previously lacked sufficient resources.

Publishers under the ONOS umbrella

Nearly 13,000 e-journals published by 30 major international journal publishers will now be accessible to more than 6,300 government Higher Education Institutions and central government R&D institutions. The scheme includes all major publishers like Elsevier ScienceDirect, Springer Nature, Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Sage Publishing, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Taylor & Francis, and BMJ Journals.

Implementation of ONOS

The scheme will be implemented through a user-friendly, fully digital platform. The platform is scheduled to become operational on January 1, 2025. More than 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers will get benefit from the scheme. Further, the ONOS scheme will extend its reach to tier-2 and tier-3 cities, offering access to interdisciplinary and advanced research across various fields. A total of almost ₹ 6,000 crore has been allocated for One Nation One Subscription for 3 calendar years, 2025, 2026 and 2027 as a new Central Sector Scheme.

Role of INFLIBNET

The scheme will be administered through a simple, user friendly and fully digital process. INFLIBNET (Information and Library Network), an autonomous inter-university center of the University Grants Commission (UGC) will coordinate the national subscription process and provide access to the journals.

Role of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

The Govt. of India established the ANRF to promote research and development and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout government universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories. Keeping the vision in center the ANRF will periodically review the usage of One Nation One Subscription and publications of Indian authors of these institutions.

Role of state Governments

To maximize the usage of this facility provided by central government to promote research and development in India, the Department of Higher Education along with the state governments and relevant ministries will encourage the students, researchers and faculty through various awareness campaigns at all government institutions.

With the implementation of ONOS, all government higher education institutions, including universities, colleges, and institutions of national importance, will have unified access to both national and international journal publications with no barriers. ONOS reach to tier-2 and tier-3 cities will help in reducing the knowledge gap between urban and rural students. Overall, this scheme will provide Indian researchers with access to cutting-edge research and publications in diverse fields, boosting the quality of academic research and innovation in India.