The central government approved the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS), a new central sector scheme, on November 25, 2024. This ambitious project would offer access to a large collection of scholarly research e-journals, marking a significant milestone for students, researchers, and academic institutions across India, particularly those from less-resourced institutions.
The rationale behind ONOS is rooted in India’s commitment to education as a not-for-profit sector, where both central and state governments are responsible for establishing educational institutions and ensuring minimal fees. This framework has led to a significant number of private institutions operating under not-for-profit trusts. As a result, the government emerges as the largest buyer of educational resources, making it crucial to centralise subscriptions to improve access and reduce costs.
Current Scenario
Currently, Indian academic institutions and the public spend about Rs 1,500 crore annually on journal subscriptions, with total expenses likely under Rs 2,000 crore when including database subscriptions. Equitable access to research articles for all institutions regardless of financial resources has been promised through ONOS. These include titles owned by major publishers like Springer-Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, etc.
Currently, around 2,400 institutions benefit from subscriptions through 10 different library consortia, managed by various government ministries and departments. These consortia provide access to e-resources like journals, databases, standards, and e-books. Key participants include the Ministry of Education, the Department of Science and Technology, and several others. The largest consortium, E-Shodh Sindhu under the Ministry of Education, serves about 2,000 government institutions, including Institutes of National Importance like IITs and IIMs. While the consortia have historically been fragmented, focusing on specific disciplines, ONOS aims to offer centralised access to resources across all fields.
Five years ago, 75 per cent of the papers published by Indian scientists appeared in subscription-based journals, a figure which has come down to 65 per cent.
About ONOS
- The ONOS scheme was proposed in 2018-19 for the first time, finally approved in 2024, involve a financial commitment of Rs 6,000 crore over three years (2025–27) to 30 major international journal publishers.
- The scheme will provide all government Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and research institutions with access to more than 13,000 e-journals from 30 leading global publishers. This access will cover fields such as Science, Technical, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), medicine, management, social sciences, and the humanities, ensuring an unparalleled growth of knowledge.
- The ONOS scheme has been scheduled to begin on January 1, 2025, and would run until December 31, 2027. During this time, over 6,300 government HEIs and central government research and development (R&D) institutions would have access to the subscribed e-journals.
- The ONOS scheme will be managed through a fully digital, user-friendly process, ensuring smooth access to scholarly materials. The Information and Library Network, an autonomous inter-university centre of the University Grants Commission (UGC) would oversee the national subscription.
- The initiative shift has been aligned with the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020 and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) which emphasise the importance of multi-disciplinary education and research.
- The ONOS scheme will be implemented in three phases. In the first phase, the government will merge all existing consortia and will work to enable journal access across all public institutes. In the second phase, ONOS will be extended to include private institutions. In the final phase, the government will establish universal access for all citizens through designated access points in public libraries.
- In a pilot, ONOS will allocate Rs 150 crore out of the Rs 2,000 crore per year designated for the scheme to cover the Article Processing Charges (APC). Additionally, the government has negotiated APC discounts for researchers for publishing in certain open-access journals.
- The Department of Higher Education (DHE) will create a unified portal, ‘One Nation One Subscription’ through which institutions could access the journals. The ANRF will periodically review the usage of ONOS and the publication work of Indian authors from the institutions.
- The DHE along with other ministries managing HEIs and R&D institutions, will conduct information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns to inform students, faculty, and researchers about the availability and access methods of ONOS. This will lead to increase usage across the country.
Benefits of ONOS
- ONOS will provide unrestricted access to a vast collection of scholarly articles, allowing researchers, students, and faculty members to engage in advanced research without the barriers of subscription fees. The initiative will ensure that individuals in tier-2 and tier-3 cities would have equal access to scholarly resources as those in metropolitan areas, helping to bridge the knowledge gap and promoting inclusive education.
- By consolidating subscriptions at a national level, the government will be able to negotiate better terms with publishers. This will result in substantial cost savings as compared to individual institutional subscriptions.
- With access to a broad range of journals across various disciplines, students and researchers can engage in interdisciplinary studies more effectively, fostering holistic educational development.
- The number of institutions benefiting from these subscriptions will increase by over 160 per cent. A key aspect of this initiative has been that it would extend access to all government medical colleges, addressing the current gap in coverage by the National Medical Library’s Electronic Resources in Medicine Consortium, which currently covers only 74 medical colleges, including 14 All India Institute of Medical Sciences out of the 26. With ONOS, all government medical colleges would gain access to e-journals.
Concerns Related to the Scheme
The ONOS initiative has raised several significant concerns from both publishers and Indian researchers, highlighting potential challenges in its implementation and impact on the academic landscape.
Concerns from Publishers
Revenue caps Publishers are worried that the government, as the largest purchaser of academic resources, will impose spending caps while expanding access to a broader audience. This could lead to fixed revenue guarantees for publishers, which may not adequately account for new content added to journal subscriptions. As seen in Western markets, adding more journals to a subscription bundle does not proportionately increase revenue, creating a scenario where publishers may struggle financially.
Job losses With fixed revenues and the potential for reduced profitability, publishers may be forced to cut costs, which could lead to job losses in India’s publishing sector. Key teams involved in sales, content acquisition, production, and marketing may face downsizing, resulting in a diminished publishing infrastructure and fewer opportunities for trained professionals in the field.
Impact on content quality The ONOS initiative may inadvertently lead to a reduction in the quality of content available to Indian researchers if publishers cut back on resources and personnel. This could hinder the overall research output and innovation within the country.
Concerns from Indian Researchers
Publishing opportunities Despite having 18 million potential clients (students, faculty, and researchers), only about 2,00,000 articles are published from India in 2022. This represents just 1 per cent of the total market size. High rejection rates in traditional journals exacerbate this issue, leaving many researchers without avenues for publication.
Open access challenges The shift towards Open Access publishing presents its own challenges. Although the Indian government has allocated around US$ 45 million for article processing charges (APCs), many researchers may still find it difficult to publish their work due to high APCs ranging from US$ 900 to US$ 12,500. There are concerns that funds allocated for APCs may end up benefiting predatory journals rather than reputable publishers.
Market perception Indian research is often not perceived as marketable to Western audiences, which could impact the willingness of publishers to offer special pricing or favourable terms for Indian content. This lack of recognition can further limit publishing opportunities for Indian researchers.
Lengthy waiting period for journal inclusion UGC has a policy that delays journal inclusion for three years after publication, which can hinder timely access to research outputs and limit opportunities for early-career researchers.
Increased pressure on researchers The combination of high rejection rates in traditional journals and limited funding for open access publishing increases pressure on Indian researchers who are already navigating a challenging publishing landscape.
Conclusion
ONOS has been viewed as a timely initiative aimed at positioning India within the global research ecosystem by providing easy access to research resources for all students, faculty, and researchers in government institutions.
ONOS has the potential to democratise knowledge access in India and enhance research capabilities across various disciplines. However, careful attention must be paid to how this initiative affects both the publishing landscape and the ability of Indian researchers to contribute meaningfully to global scholarship.
The success of ONOS will ultimately depend on how well it addresses these issues while fostering a sustainable environment for academic publishing in India. It is time to reassess whether this initiative is a step forward or an expensive detour.
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