What is ‘One Nation One Subscription’, Centre’s new scheme for students, researchers?

The Union Cabinet has approved the ‘One Nation One Subscription’ (ONOS) scheme, aimed at providing nationwide access to scholarly research articles and journal publications.

Under this Central Sector Scheme, Rs 6,000 crore has been allocated for three calendar years: 2025, 2026, and 2027.

The Department of Higher Education will operate a unified portal, ‘One Nation One Subscription,’ allowing institutions across the country to access journals seamlessly.

Cabinet approves One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)

The Prime Minister in his address to the Nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15th August, 2022, had pointed out the importance of Research and Development in our country in the Amrit Kaal. He had given the clarion call… pic.twitter.com/mXnJm7ZQ3m

— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) November 25, 2024

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So, how can you benefit from this scheme, and what should you know about it?

1. The ‘One Nation One Subscription’ scheme will benefit all higher educational institutions managed by the Central or state governments, along with research and development institutions of the Central government. Access will be provided through a national subscription coordinated by the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an autonomous inter-university centre under the University Grants Commission (UGC), according to an official statement.

2. The scheme aims to provide students, faculty, and researchers at these institutions with access to international, high-impact scholarly research articles and journal publications.

3. This initiative will support over 6,300 institutions, including government universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories, benefitting more than 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers. Further, the ONOS scheme will extend its reach to tier-2 and tier-3 cities, offering access to interdisciplinary and advanced research across various fields.

4. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) will periodically assess the usage of the ‘One Nation One Subscription’ scheme and monitor publications by Indian authors from these institutions. State governments will also be encouraged to carry out awareness campaigns to maximise usage of this facility by students, faculty, and researchers at all government institutions, the statement added.

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5. The scheme aims to democratise access to academic resources, providing nearly 13,000 high-impact e-journals from 30 leading international publishers. By eliminating barriers to quality academic materials, the initiative will aim to promote both core and interdisciplinary research.

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6. A dedicated portal, “One Nation One Subscription,” will be the main access point for institutions to explore these resources. To ensure widespread awareness, the Department of Higher Education, along with state governments and relevant ministries, will conduct Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaigns.

7. During his Independence Day address on August 15, 2022, Prime Minister Modi spoke about the important role of research and development in India’s progress. Inspired by this vision, the National Education Policy (2020) has placed research at the core of achieving educational excellence and national development.

8. Presently, ten separate library consortia under various ministries provide access to journals for higher education institutions within their administrative scope, The Indian Express said in a report. Further, individual institutions subscribe to journals independently. However, with the implementation of ONOS, all government higher education institutions, including universities, colleges, and institutions of national importance, will have unified access to both national and international journal publications.

#Cabinet approves One Nation One Subscription (ONOS), a new Central Sector Scheme for providing country-wide access to scholarly research articles and journal publications with a total outlay of Rs. 6,000 crore

-Union Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw#CabinetDecisions pic.twitter.com/9ni6h8Wsxo

— PIB India (@PIB_India) November 25, 2024

9. Publishers included in the scheme include Elsevier ScienceDirect, Springer Nature, Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Sage Publishing, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Taylor & Francis, and BMJ Journals.

10. The scheme aims to expand access to research journals for institutions that previously lacked adequate resources. The platform is scheduled to become operational on January 1, 2025.

“One Nation One Subscription is a timely step towards establishing India in the global research ecosystem by bringing ease of doing research to the doorstep of all students, faculty and researchers in the government institutions,” a press release read.

It further stated, “One Nation One Subscription will build on and further enhance the scope and reach of the range of initiatives undertaken by the Government of India over the past decade in the domains of education, for maximizing access to quality higher education for the youth of India.”

“This will supplement the ANRF initiative to promote research and development and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout government universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories.”

With inputs from agencies