New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the “One Nation One Subscription” scheme, aimed at providing nationwide access to scholarly research articles and journal publications. The scheme, set to be implemented from 2025 to 2027, will be a fully digital and user-friendly process, benefiting government higher education institutions and research & development (R&D) laboratories across the country.
A total of Rs. 6,000 crore has been allocated for the initiative, which will enhance the scope of existing government efforts to promote quality higher education. The scheme builds on the successes of previous programs, including the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), with the goal of fostering research and innovation in India.
The “One Nation One Subscription” scheme will cover over 6,300 institutions, including both central and state government-run higher educational institutions and central government R&D labs. It will directly benefit around 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers by providing access to a wide range of scholarly journals through a centralized subscription system managed by INFLIBNET, an autonomous center under the University Grants Commission (UGC).
This initiative aims to promote research across all academic disciplines, including interdisciplinary studies, and extend access to resources even in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. It will also support the development of a research culture within government institutions, with periodic reviews of usage and the publication of Indian authors.
The Department of Higher Education (DHE) will set up a unified portal to facilitate access to the journals, while state governments will also be encouraged to carry out campaigns to maximize usage among students and researchers at the local level.
This landmark scheme is in line with the government’s vision of a developed India by 2047 and aims to make high-quality research more accessible to scholars nationwide.
