India, a land of ancient knowledge and rich tradition, has always been a beacon of innovation and discovery. From pioneering advancements in mathematics and astronomy to groundbreaking contributions in various fields of science, the country’s legacy of intellectual achievement is unmatched.

‘One Nation One Subscription’ scheme initiative seeks to break down barriers to knowledge by providing all students, faculty, researchers, and scientists across the nation’s government higher education institutions and central government R&D centres with access to international scholarly journals and articles. The goal is to ensure that India’s academic and research communities are equipped with the best global resources, fostering innovation and enhancing the quality of research across disciplines.

Read in Hindi: उच्च गुणवत्ता वाले शोध प्रकाशनों तक अब मिलेगी सीधी पहुंच

The ONOS scheme is a cornerstone of India's ambition to become a self-reliant and developed nation by 2047. This initiative is a key component of the Viksitbharat@2047 vision. This roadmap envisions India’s emergence as a leading global power driven by cutting-edge research, technological advancement, and self-sustained progress. Through such initiatives, India is preparing to build on its rich legacy of knowledge, positioning itself at the forefront of global innovation and discovery.

The scheme’s objective is to provide all eligible students, faculty, researchers, and scientists with access to top-tier international research articles and journals. It covers more than 6,300 government-managed higher education institutions and central government-managed research and development institutions across the country.

The scheme provides access to more than 13,000 scholarly journals from 30 major international publishers and benefits about 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers across disciplines such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine, Social Sciences, Finance & Accounts, etc as well as an inclusive access to research for institutions in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, ensuring equitable access to knowledge.

The scheme provides access to high-quality scholarly journals and publications across various fields. This aims to democratise access to knowledge to enhance the research capabilities of students, faculty, and researchers.

The scheme ensures that institutions, regardless of their geographic location, in urban centres or remote areas, have access to world-class research resources. This is crucial for advancing core and interdisciplinary research in the country.

The entire subscription process will be centrally coordinated by INFLIBNET i.e. Information and Library Network, an autonomous inter-university centre under the University Grants Commission. INFLIBNET will manage the distribution of digital access to these journals, ensuring a seamless experience for users.

Journals will be accessible entirely through a digital platform, ensuring convenience and ease for all users. This approach minimises administrative complexities and makes access available on-demand.

A total of ₹6,000 crore has been allocated for the PM-ONOS initiative, covering three years- 2025, 2026, and 2027. The funding will cover the subscription charges for all participating institutions across the three years. Further, ONOS will also provide central funding support of ₹150 Crore per year for beneficiary authors to publish in selected good quality Open Access journals.

ONOS phase I, starting from 1 January, will provide access to over 13,000 journals for more than 6,300 government academic and R&D institutes including central and state-govt universities and colleges. This translates to nearly 1.8 Crore students, faculty and researchers getting access to high-quality research publications.

The subscription charges for journals from 30 publishers under ONOS Phase I will be centrally paid by INFLIBNET, covering payments from library consortia, HEIs, and R&D institutions under central ministries. Independent subscriptions will continue for resources not included in Phase I.

This phase will establish the program's framework and ensure that key research resources are made available to a large number of institutions across India.

Payment of Article Processing Charges to publishers for selected high-quality research publications of the researchers from these participating institutions have also been envisaged in this phase.

Experience of ONOS phase I will be used for designing subsequent phases of ONOS. The scheme will complement the existing Anusandhan National Research Foundation, which is designed to promote R&D activities across India. ONOS will facilitate easy access to international research materials, supporting the foundation’s goal of fostering research and innovation across government-managed institutions.

One of ONOS's significant features is the discounts on Article Processing Charges. Journals typically levied these charges for publishing research articles. By negotiating lower APCs with publishers, the scheme will help Indian researchers publish their work in high-quality journals without incurring heavy financial costs.

Overall, The One Nation One Subscription initiative is a game-changing scheme for India’s research ecosystem. As the first step in a multi-pronged approach, it expands access through the widely used subscription model. The other steps focus initially on promoting Indian journals and repositories and then introducing new research evaluation methods that consider both journal metrics and factors like innovation and entrepreneurship.