One Nation One Subscription (ONOS): India’s Research Revolution or Just Another Expensive Patchwork?

There has been significant discussion, opinions, and criticism surrounding the One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) initiative.

Some critics have outright dismissed the idea without delving into its merits, while others have applauded it without considering the challenges and potential malpractices it might encourage.

Personally, I’ve been deliberately late to respond to this debate, as I wanted to thoroughly evaluate what ONOS means for India.

What is ONOS?

The One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) initiative is a policy by the Government of India designed to provide seamless access to high-quality research publications and journals for all higher education institutions, research organizations, and government-funded R&D institutions.

Managed by the INFLIBNET (Information and Library Network), an autonomous inter-university centre under the University Grants Commission (UGC), ONOS aims to bridge the gap in research accessibility by negotiating a centralized subscription to closed access journals with global publishers.

The government has allocated a substantial budget of ₹6,000 crore for the first phase of ONOS, covering the period 2025-2027, ensuring access to approximately 13,000 journals from over 30 major international publishers.

Implementation of ONOS in Phases

ONOS is set to be implemented in multiple phases to ensure an inclusive and effective rollout:

1. Phase 1, to be rolled out by January 2024: Focuses on government-funded higher education institutions, central and state universities, and research organizations. This phase excludes private universities and affiliated colleges, restricting its reach to public institutions.

2. Future Phases: Aim to expand access to private universities, colleges, and potentially individual researchers through public libraries or other collaborative mechanisms.

Phase 1 is expected to address the immediate needs of over 18 million students, researchers, and faculty members, creating a foundation for nationwide research accessibility.

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Why Has India Chosen to Implement ONOS?

India’s decision to implement ONOS stems from the pressing need to:

Bridge Accessibility Gaps: Ensure equitable access to high-quality research across institutions with varying financial capabilities.

Foster Innovation: Provide resources that encourage groundbreaking research and development, aligning with NEP 2020 goals.

Reduce Costs: Centralized negotiations help save substantial subscription costs, benefiting smaller institutions and researchers.

Boost Global Competitiveness: Enhance India’s standing in global research rankings by equipping researchers with the best resources.

But has ONOS truly solved India's pressing need for research? Let's see further.

Advantages of ONOS

Equity in Access: ONOS ensures that even institutions with limited budgets, especially those in rural or underserved areas, have access to the same high-quality research materials as their wealthier counterparts. This democratizes access to knowledge, allowing students and researchers from diverse backgrounds to contribute meaningfully to academia and innovation.

Cost Efficiency: By centralizing subscriptions under a national policy, ONOS eliminates the redundancy of multiple institutions subscribing to the same journals individually. This pooled approach saves significant costs for the government and institutions, freeing up resources for other educational and research initiatives.

Encourages Collaboration: With unified access to a shared pool of resources, ONOS facilitates better collaboration across institutions. Researchers and academics from different parts of the country can engage more effectively, using the same data and publications to drive multi-institutional studies and innovation.

Supports Research Excellence: By removing financial barriers to accessing cutting-edge journals, ONOS empowers researchers to stay updated with the latest developments in their fields. This accessibility enhances the quality of research and strengthens India's contribution to global academic discourse.

The Incompleteness of ONOS Without a Strong Publishing Policy

While ONOS is a commendable initiative, it highlights a glaring gap: India lacks a robust policy on research publishing practices. For instance, countries like the United States mandate that publicly funded research be made accessible via open access platforms within a defined period, ensuring public investment translates into accessible knowledge.

Without similar mandates, ONOS risks reinforcing reliance on closed access journals, perpetuating a system where publishers profit from taxpayer-funded research while limiting its broader societal impact.

For example, a researcher publishing ground-breaking findings under ONOS might still need to sign away copyright to closed-access publishers, making it impossible to freely share or repurpose their work.

ONOS creates a paradox where public funds ensure access but fail to incentivize ethical publishing practices.

Furthermore, students and independent researchers not tied to ONOS-covered institutions would still face significant paywalls, reducing the equitable dissemination of knowledge.

Such scenarios highlight why ONOS, in its current state, conflicts with global best practices aimed at promoting open and accessible research.

Disadvantages of ONOS

Encourages Closed Access: By investing heavily in closed access journals, ONOS indirectly discourages publishing in OA platforms.

Potential for Malpractices: Subscription-based models can lead to Bundling of low-quality journals with high-impact ones and Citation manipulation and favouritism.

Limited Reach: Excludes private universities and individual researchers in its initial phase, leaving gaps in access.

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The Dilemma of Promoting Closed Access Journals

Access vs. Publishing: ONOS focuses on providing access to closed access journals for students, researchers, and faculty. While this is beneficial for reading and learning, it indirectly supports the closed access publishing model by funding it.

Universities and researchers might feel incentivized to publish in these journals to align with what the academic community frequently reads and cites under ONOS.

Reinforcing Publisher Monopolies: By paying large sums to closed access publishers, the government is indirectly endorsing their business model. This can:

• Strengthen their dominance in the academic publishing industry.

• Discourage researchers from considering open access journals, which are often more affordable and equitable.

Impact on Open Access Movement: India’s academic and research community might lose momentum in contributing to open access platforms, which aim to make knowledge freely available worldwide. Researchers might prefer prestigious closed journals (often due to their perceived higher impact factor) instead of supporting open access alternatives.

What Can Be Done to Balance This?

To address these challenges, India must complement ONOS with a strategic shift towards Open Access publishing:

Incentivize Open Access Publishing: Subsidize Article Processing Charges (APCs) for researchers publishing in open access journals. Promote the use of institutional repositories where research is freely available.

Encourage Green Open Access: Mandate that publicly funded research be deposited in open repositories, even if initially published in closed journals (known as green open access).

Develop High-Impact Indian Journals: Invest in building Indian open access journals that meet global quality standards, reducing dependence on international publishers.

Steps the Government Can Take

Policy Framework: The government should draft and enforce a robust national policy on research publishing, emphasizing Open Access (OA). This policy should mandate that all publicly funded research be deposited in open repositories, ensuring free access to knowledge for the public that funds it. For example, implementing a policy akin to the US National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Public Access Policy could be transformative.

Support Hybrid Journals: Negotiate with publishers under ONOS to adopt hybrid models. These models would allow researchers to publish their work Open Access within subscription-based journals without incurring excessive costs. This ensures a gradual transition to OA while preserving access to high-impact journals.

Incentives for OA: Establish financial incentives for researchers who publish in Open Access platforms. For instance, universities could offer grants to cover Article Processing Charges (APCs) or provide additional career rewards, such as promotions or research grants, for those adhering to OA publishing standards. Encouraging early-career researchers through such schemes would have a significant impact.

Collaborate with Global OA Initiatives: Partner with international bodies like UNESCO, Plan S, and the Coalition for Open Access to align India’s research ecosystem with global OA standards. For example, leveraging UNESCO’s Open Science Recommendations can enhance India’s visibility and participation in global collaborative research.

What Universities Can Do with ONOS

Maximize Usage of Resources: Universities should actively train their faculty, researchers, and students on how to effectively use the wealth of journals and publications made available under ONOS. Awareness campaigns and workshops can help ensure the resources are fully utilized.

Establish Institutional Repositories: Create or expand institutional repositories to store and share preprints, post prints, and datasets. For example, a university could mandate researchers to deposit copies of their work in these repositories, making it accessible even if published in closed journals.

Encourage Ethical Publishing Practices: Universities must educate researchers about ethical publishing and the importance of Open Access. This can include seminars on identifying predatory journals and understanding copyright agreements.

Promote Inter-Institutional Collaboration: With ONOS providing equal access to journals, universities should foster collaborations with other institutions, both nationally and internationally. For instance, joint research projects can leverage shared resources to maximize impact.

Support OA Publishing: Universities can allocate a portion of their research budgets to fund APCs for Open Access publishing. Additionally, they could encourage faculty to publish in reputable OA journals by recognizing such contributions during performance reviews or tenure evaluations.

By implementing these measures, both the government and universities can ensure that ONOS is not just an access mechanism but a transformative step toward a more equitable and impactful research ecosystem.

The Bigger Picture: Long-Term Transition

The "Bigger Picture: Long-Term Transition" section envisions India's journey toward a balanced and sustainable research ecosystem, aligning with global best practices, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and India's vision of Viksit Bharat (Developed India). Here's a detailed explanation:

Aligning with Global Best Practices

Phase 1: Supporting Green Open Access (OA) Initiatives

Green OA allows researchers to self-archive their work in institutional repositories while still publishing in closed-access journals.

Example: A researcher publishes in a high-impact closed journal but deposits a preprint or final draft in a university repository, making it accessible to all.

This phase ensures that India's researchers remain competitive while enabling gradual steps toward openness without disrupting the current system.

Phase 2: Expanding OA Funding

Increasing funding for Article Processing Charges (APCs) supports Gold OA, where articles are immediately free to access on publication.

Global Benchmark: Similar initiatives by the European Union’s Plan S and the UK’s Jisc Collections ensure that all publicly funded research is openly available.

Phase 2 need to reduces India's dependency on subscription-based journals and aligns with the global shift toward openness.

Phase 3: Building Indigenous OA Journals

Creating high-quality, globally competitive OA journals will not only enhance India’s research output but also reduce reliance on costly international publishers.

Example: Developing platforms similar to PLOS or BioMed Central that are tailored to Indian research priorities, encouraging more localized and impactful studies.

Supporting the SDGs

Goal 4: Quality Education

Open access ensures equitable access to learning materials for students and researchers across socio-economic strata.

Impact: Students in underfunded rural institutions can access the same resources as those in elite universities, bridging educational disparities.

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

By encouraging innovation through accessible research, OA fosters collaboration between academia, industry, and policymakers.

Scenario: A small biotech startup in India accessing cutting-edge OA research to develop cost-effective solutions for public health.

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Collaborating with global OA initiatives and aligning with international frameworks like UNESCO’s OA policies strengthens India's research ecosystem and global influence.

Contributing to Viksit Bharat

India’s vision of a Developed India (Viksit Bharat) hinges on robust innovation, technological advancement, and equitable access to knowledge:

Research as a Growth Driver: Open access democratizes knowledge, empowering startups, industries, and communities to leverage research for socio-economic growth.

Outcome: Enhanced domestic innovation contributes to India becoming a global knowledge hub by 2047.

Resilience and Self-Reliance: Indigenous OA journals and repositories reduce dependency on foreign publishers, aligning with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative.

Long-Term Impact

This phased approach demonstrates foresight and strategic alignment with India's goals:

It ensures continuity by leveraging existing systems like ONOS while transitioning to more sustainable practices.

It empowers researchers, ensuring they have the tools and platforms needed to maximize their contributions.

It elevates India’s global standing as a pioneer in ethical and equitable research dissemination.

In conclusion, the "Bigger Picture" strategy not only addresses immediate challenges but also ensures India's long-term alignment with global standards, SDGs, and its vision of a developed, equitable, and innovative nation.

While ONOS is a significant step forward, it is only a piece of the puzzle in India’s quest to strengthen its research ecosystem. A comprehensive approach, combining accessible resources with ethical and open publishing practices, is crucial to position India as a global leader in research and innovation.

Balancing investments in closed access with a robust push for Open Access will ensure equitable, impactful, and sustainable research practices for the nation.

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