Summary
One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) scheme is a game-changer for Indian research and education. Launched in November 2024, it opens the doors to over 13,000 international journals, making world-class knowledge accessible to 1.8 crore students, researchers, and educators across the country.
It empowers students, researchers, and educators with free access to global journals, paving the way for a self-reliant, knowledge-driven India by 2047.
One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) Scheme: Objective and features
India has been serving with its contribution in the fields of science, technology and culture since the early centuries. The One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) initiative would be a way forward that helps to make India a research country on the worldwide map.
It enhances innovation, supports equity and also enhances the country’s store of knowledge by extending the same privileges to research. While India moves forward towards the 2047 vision, ONOS will assist in keeping research at the focus of the growth plan as the center of the wise and learning process.
Understanding the ONOS Scheme
Ever since his 2022 Independence Day speech, Narendra Modi has called for increased focus on research and development for India’s progress with the rallying cry of “Jai Anusandhan” or “Hail Research.”
For this purpose, the government unveiled the One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) policy in November 2024. This has raised research materials easily available to everyone, thus making a call for students, educators and researchers across India to excel and make a self-sufficient nation.
This project of building overseas networking platforms for Indian researchers and scholars is a landmark towards establishing India as a research and innovation destination of the world. These include more than 6,300,000 students, faculty and researchers in government-supported higher learning institutions and research institutes.
Key Features of ONOS:
Comprehensive Access: A number of full-text journals, which is more than 13,000 covering different areas, get published by 30 international journal publishers across the globe.
Wide Beneficiary Base: 1.8 crore students, researchers, and faculty members from different domains and areas of specialization such as science, technology, mathematics, medicine, social sciences, and finance.
Equity in Access: Students from tier-2 and tier-3 cities will benefit from the pivotal bridge across the urban-rural knowledge divide.
Strategic Objectives
The ONOS scheme is not only about opportunity but about giving back to India’s intellectual society.
Key objectives include:
Democratizing Knowledge: To increase access to high-quality, academically relevant products for students all over the world, regardless of their location and affiliation to a specific institution.
Boosting Research Quality: By providing access to cutting-edge publications, the initiative aims to enhance the depth and impact of Indian research.
Supporting Global Collaboration: It enables Indian researchers to engage with international academic communities, contributing to and benefiting from global knowledge networks.
Implementation Mechanism
Centralized Management by INFLIBNET
The Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), which has been endorsed as an autonomous institution under the University Grants Commission (UGC), will be responsible for subscription.
Such a central strategy of managing journal access results in easy digital access and efficient help in reducing general administrative burden.
Funding Allocation
For the first phase of ONOS, with investment ranging from ₹4,500 crore to ₹6,000 crore, the government has launched a plan for 2025 to 2027.
This funding will cover:
Payment for the service fee for the instituting members.
Open Access for Indian Researchers through Article Processing Charges (APCs) in select journals.
Phased Implementation
Phase I (2025–2027)
Excluding full-text journals, access to more than 10,500 titles; full-text journals, 1371; and Open Access journals, 2390.
It directly affects 1.8 crore of the stake holders of all the HEIs and R & D centers.
The subscription charges were to be paid through INFLIBNET, which was centralized at each library affiliated with the consortium.
APC waivers for researchers smooth the financial costs that come when scholars want to publish their articles in highly rated journals.
Integration with current Programs
It interacts with various governmental policies, such as the Anusandhan National Research Foundation and the ONOS scheme supports the establishment of research activities in various Indian states.
These opportunities augment the competitive position of the country to host a broad range of research, establishing the nation and its institutions as inclusive world research destinations.
Empowering Indian Researchers
Discounted APCs
Of the many features of ONOS, one of its most useful is the ability to request publishers for lower APCs. This will ensure that Indian researchers get to publish in some of the most prestigious journals in the world and achieve more contributions towards global scholarly writing without straining so financially.
Incorporation of distance learning institutions
When providing its resources to institutions located outside heavily populated cities, ONOS guarantees that gifted individuals have a shot across the entirety of India. This WEFE is crucial in fostering acceptable growth in the production of knowledge and educational and research opportunities.
Vision 2047: A Developed India Through R&D
This map has been leading to Viksit Bharat@2047—an Indian vision for becoming an independent, knowledge-based economy by 2047 on the occasion of India’s centenary. Through research and innovation, the nation is investing in sustainable development, technology and society.
Explore opportunities in research and boost your potential with ONOS!
