Centre Announces 'One Nation One Subscription' Scheme to Democratise Knowledge and Promote Innovation

In an effort to make high-quality academic knowledge accessible to all, the government has approved the 'One Nation One Subscription' (ONOS) scheme, a central sector initiative aimed at providing nationwide access to scholarly research articles and journal publications. The programme was announced on November 25, with a budget allocation of ₹6,000 crore to be implemented over three calendar years - 2025, 2026, and 2027.

According to an official statement, the scheme will grant comprehensive access to high-impact research papers and journals across the nation, covering nearly 6,300 institutions including central and state-managed higher educational institutions. The ONOS initiative is expected to benefit over 1.8 crore students, faculty members, and researchers by enhancing their access to scholarly publications.

The government has taken a significant step towards democratizing knowledge and promoting innovation through this scheme, building on existing efforts such as the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) initiative. The programme aligns with goals set out in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, ANRF, and the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision.

The Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an inter-university centre under the University Grants Commission (UGC), will coordinate the scheme. A dedicated portal, 'One Nation One Subscription,' managed by the Department of Higher Education, will serve as a centralized access point for institutions to retrieve journals and research articles.

The ONOS scheme is slated to bridge the gap in access to academic resources for students and researchers in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, promoting both core and interdisciplinary research. The ANRF will periodically monitor the scheme's usage and evaluate the contributions of Indian researchers to subscribed publications.