One Nation, One Subscription to be launched on January 1; nearly 1.8 crore students to benefit

Mumbai: The Indian government is set to launch its ambitious 'One Nation, One Subscription' (ONOS) initiative from January 1, offering over 1.8 crore state-funded higher education students across the country access to top international research journals.

The ONOS initiative aims to provide unparalleled access to research papers published in over 13,400 international journals covering diverse disciplines such as science, technology, engineering, medicine, mathematics, management, social sciences, and humanities. These journals are published by esteemed publishers like Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley.

"This historic move will revolutionize the educational landscape in India," said Department of Science and Technology Secretary Abhay Karadikar. "Earlier, institutions like IITs or central universities subscribed to a limited set of journals related to specific disciplines. Under ONOS, all institutions will have access to 13,400 research journals."

Through this initiative, 451 state public universities, 4,864 colleges, and 172 institutes of national importance will gain access to the top publications. The Department of Science and Technology's Principal Scientific Advisor AK Sood said that researchers and faculty members from these institutions can now easily access the latest research findings.

"One Nation, One Subscription" has been rolled out as a central sector scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore for a three-year period. The initiative will promote core as well as interdisciplinary research in the country, particularly among students and researchers in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

The first phase of ONOS is set to become operational on January 1 and will be available for the next three years. Subsequent phases plan to extend access to private academic institutions through a public-private partnership model and ultimately grant universal access through designated points at public libraries.