What ‘one nation, one subscription’ needs to bridge the knowledge gap

India ranks third globally as a producer of scientific knowledge, as reported by the National Science Foundation. However, its output in science and engineering publications remains significantly lower than global leaders like the United States and China, amounting to nearly a quarter and a third of their respective contributions. Despite this disparity, the Indian higher education sector has witnessed substantial growth since the early 2010s, with an increasing number of students entering research and contributing to the global knowledge exchange.

Yet, for many higher education institutions (HEIs) in India, access to high-quality research articles from top international journals remains out of reach. The recently announced 'One Nation, One Subscription' initiative seeks to address this inequity by enabling nationwide access to premier scholarly journals through a single subscription. While this is a promising step, its success depends on addressing four key challenges to ensure parity and equity in access to quality educational resources across HEIs and student demographics.

Respecting specificity within universality: One potential drawback of a nationwide subscription to leading journals is the risk of focusing disproportionately on widely used and referred journals. While this approach has merit, it overlooks the specialised research needs of institutions that focus on specific disciplines such as agriculture, social sciences, forestry, and others. In a diverse academic landscape like India’s, meeting the unique requirements of such HEIs is critical. If the objective is to cater broadly through a universal subscription, the challenge of addressing field-specific needs must be prioritised. Firstly, subscription funds allocated to institutions with dedicated research focus should be safeguarded to ensure continued access to niche, discipline-specific journals. This ensures that their specialised research objectives are not compromised. Secondly, the initiative must simultaneously foster interdisciplinary access by creating pathways for collaboration and knowledge-sharing across HEIs. This dual approach will balance inclusivity with specificity, enhancing the value of the “One Nation, One Subscription” initiative for India’s diverse research ecosystem.

Non-traditional students: Non-traditional students in Indian higher education exhibit distinct age-related characteristics, often enrolling in HEIs beyond the typical age for various reasons, including employment, marriage, and familial responsibilities. A significant proportion of these students are part-time learners, and many pursue their studies through open universities. The sporadic growth of open universities at both state and national levels has undoubtedly expanded access to higher education. However, this segment remains the most unequal within the higher education landscape, with pronounced disparities in attainment across gender, caste, and rural-urban divides. One of the key barriers perpetuating this inequality is the lack of equitable access to digital resources, including academic journal articles, which are critical for advanced learning and research. Additionally, concerns surrounding data fraud and unauthorised access have rendered "remote access" a mere technical term rather than a functional reality for many non-traditional students. Addressing these challenges is essential to ensure that the growth in higher education access translates into meaningful and inclusive academic opportunities.

Onus of awareness: While access to digital devices has become widespread in India, awareness about accessing and effectively utilising research papers remains limited. Unfortunately, the quality of knowledge dissemination in Indian higher education is highly unequal, with significant disparities across institutions. The government’s initiative to provide students and HEIs access to higher educational resources, such as research papers, is commendable. However, without accompanying efforts to raise awareness and educate users on accessing and utilising these resources effectively, the initiative risks primarily benefiting elite HEIs. This could inadvertently exacerbate existing inequalities rather than bridge the gap. A concerted focus on outreach and training is essential to ensure that the benefits of this initiative reach all segments of the academic community.

Curriculum advancement: The disparity in curriculum quality across educational institutions in India presents a significant challenge. It acts as a bottleneck in leveraging the potential of research articles from top journals across disciplines. Without substantial efforts toward curriculum development and ensuring parity in the quality of education, the benefits of a nationwide subscription to scholarly resources risk being limited to a select few institutions. For most, lacking foundational scientific understanding may render these resources underutilised. Bridging this gap through curriculum advancement is essential to democratising the academic benefits of such initiatives and enabling widespread, meaningful engagement with high-quality research.

If the question is, what’s next? The answer lies in research tools. While access to top-tier research articles through initiatives like “One Nation, One Subscription” is vital, the next frontier is equipping students and researchers with advanced tools that enhance their ability to utilise these resources effectively. Tools for citation management, data analysis, plagiarism detection, and collaborative research can significantly improve research quality and productivity. Integrating such tools into the research ecosystem will empower users and ensure that access translates into impactful research outcomes.

(The writer is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Economic Studies & Policy Institute for Social & Economic Change, Bengaluru)