Cabinet okays ‘One Nation One Subscription’ scheme to help students access international research articles

The initiative will open a goldmine of knowledge available in top quality scholarly journals to nearly 1.8 crore students, faculty, researchers and scientists of all disciplines, the government said

The Union Cabinet approved ‘One Nation One Subscription’, a new Central Sector Scheme for providing country-wide access to scholarly research articles and journal publications, with a total investment of Rs 6,000 crore over next three calendar years, 2025, 2026 and 2027.

The scheme will provide country-wide access to international 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, according to government statement released after the cabinet briefing on November 25.

“The initiative will open a goldmine of knowledge available in top quality scholarly journals to nearly 1.8 crore students, faculty, researchers and scientists of all disciplines, including those in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, thereby encouraging core as well as interdisciplinary research in the country,” the statement added. "The initiative will expand access to scholarly journals to a vast diaspora of students, faculty, researchers and scientists of all disciplines, including those in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, thereby promoting core as well as interdisciplinary research in the country."

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A total of 30 major international journal publishers have been included under 'One Nation One Subscription', and nearly 13,000 e-journals published by these publishers will now be accessible to more than 6,300 government Higher Education Institutions and central government R&D institutions, the government said.

"Access to journals will be provided through a national subscription coordinated by the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an autonomous inter-university centre of the University Grants Commission (UGC) through an entirely digital process," it added.