One Nation One Subscription Scheme: Need & Challenges

The Union Cabinet’s approval of the One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) scheme marks a pivotal step in providing equitable access to scholarly journals for public institutions in India. With an ambitious financial outlay of ₹6,000 crore over three years (2025-2027), the initiative seeks to bridge knowledge gaps across institutions.

About One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) Scheme

Objective: To provide nationwide access to e-journals and databases across STEM and social sciences, ensuring affordable and inclusive research opportunities.
Key Features:
- Universal Digital Access: Managed by INFLIBNET (UGC Center), ensuring a seamless, digital research ecosystem for all institutions.
- Monitoring & Evaluation: The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) will track usage and Indian research publications to assess impact.
- Global Journal Access: ONOS will include 13,000 journals from 30 top publishers, such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Elsevier (Lancet, ScienceDirect).
- Implementation Strategy: The Department of Higher Education (DHE) will develop a unified portal and conduct Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaigns to enhance outreach.

Curbing Profit-Driven Publishing: Academic publishing earns $19 billion annually, with 40% profit margins, mostly from publicly funded research. ONOS ensures universal access to taxpayer-funded knowledge.
Eliminating Predatory Journals: Many low-quality journals exploit Indian researchers with high fees and poor peer review. ONOS promotes access to credible research.
Breaking Cost Barriers: High subscription fees restrict access, especially for smaller institutions.
Fairer Publishing Terms: ONOS helps negotiate better agreements, protecting researchers from restrictive copyright policies.
Reducing Research Costs: In 2021, Indian researchers paid ₹380 crore in Article Processing Charges (APCs). ONOS cuts costs and expands access.

Growing Shift Towards Open Access (OA): With over 50% of global research freely accessible, ONOS risks becoming redundant.
Limited Inclusivity Across Research Domains: ONOS may favour mainstream journals while sidelining niche and emerging fields, restricting access to specialised research communities.
Strengthening the Monopoly of Commercial Publishers: The model could deepen India’s dependence on a handful of Western publishing giants that charge high fees and prioritise profit over knowledge dissemination.
Copyright Surrender by Researchers: Scholars publishing in subscription-based journals often lose rights over their work, allowing publishers to commercialise publicly funded research.
Vulnerability in Digital Content Archiving: Over-reliance on publishers for content preservation risks permanent data loss.
Additional Concerns: Lack of investment in Indian journals, an opaque selection process, and infrastructure gaps.

Negotiate National Licenses: Negotiate national licenses to reduce subscription costs and secure waivers on Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Strengthen Open Access Initiatives: Promote Open Access by supporting institutional repositories and Green OA workflows.
Invest in Indian Journals: Focus on elevating Indian journals to global standards to reduce dependency on foreign publishers.
Implement Copyright Protection: Ensure researchers retain control over their intellectual property through national copyright policies.

Reference: The Hindu

Introduction: Write a brief introduction about the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) scheme.
Body: Discuss the significance and challenges of the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) scheme.
Conclusion: Write a way forward and a conclusion highlighting the need for better strategies.