### India Launches “One Nation One Subscription” (ONOS) Initiative to Enhance Access to Academic Materials
India is embarking on a revolutionary change in the realm of academic resource accessibility with the launch of the **One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)** initiative. This far-reaching program is designed to enhance access to high-grade scientific literature, providing equal opportunities for education and research. Starting on **1 January 2025**, ONOS will facilitate seamless digital access to over **13,000 journals** from **30 global publishers**, benefiting more than **6300 higher education institutions and research organizations** nationwide. This initiative signifies a notable achievement in the country’s continuous quest for academic excellence and innovation.
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### **Grasping the ONOS Structure**
ONOS is a centralized subscription framework aimed at removing financial and logistical obstacles that have historically limited access to scholarly publications in India. The government has earmarked **₹60 billion (£555 million)** for the next three years to support this scheme. This investment will help establish a **digital access platform**, overseen by the **Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET)**, which will serve as the aggregator for journal access.
Participating publishers feature well-known entities such as **Springer Nature**, **Elsevier**, and the **American Chemical Society**. For Indian academia—including students, faculty, and researchers—this provides an unmatched chance to explore a plethora of global knowledge via a consolidated platform.
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### **The Aspiration: Narrowing the Academic Gap**
While announcing the initiative, **Ajay Kumar Sood**, India’s Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), highlighted its transformative ability to elevate research and education standards. A primary goal of the ONOS initiative is to increase digital academic resource access for users from the current **5.7 million** across Indian institutions to **17.8 million** by the conclusion of the first phase.
In the subsequent phase, ONOS will expand its reach to incorporate private institutions through a **public–private partnership (PPP)** model, thereby enhancing its overall impact.
**Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi**, Managing Director of Springer Nature India, shared his enthusiasm for this initiative. “The ONOS initiative signifies a positive advancement in democratizing access to top-tier scientific literature,” he commented, noting that it will cultivate a culture of research, innovation, and discovery.
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### **Tackling Historical Issues**
Traditionally, Indian universities accessed journals via INFLIBNET’s government-funded subscription system, but its decline over the years led numerous institutions to enter into expensive independent subscriptions. Smaller institutions, unable to shoulder these financial burdens, faced considerable disadvantages. The ONOS plan is set to offer a consolidated and cost-efficient alternative to fragmented subscription methodologies.
**Eldho Mathews**, Program Officer at the Kerala State Higher Education Council, hailed ONOS as a financially viable solution. He emphasized that the collective subscription model would ease the financial pressure on individual institutions while streamlining the process of obtaining academic resources.
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### **Challenges and Criticisms**
Despite the praise for ONOS’s vision and ambition, it has faced criticism. Opponents contend that the initiative might unintentionally benefit profit-driven publishers while yielding only limited returns. **Muthu Madhan**, a visiting scholar at the DST Centre for Policy Research at IISc, expressed his concerns in an article, arguing that “negotiations with for-profit journal publishers usually conclude in their advantage.”
Madhan and others challenge the justification for increased government spending—expanding access—arguing that it lacks full conviction. Critics indicate that publishers frequently defend higher fees with assurances of wider accessibility, yet the cost-return relationship remains contested. Research implies that India could even see its spending on scholarly materials double under ONOS compared to previous subscription systems, a viewpoint echoed by **Devika Madalli** of INFLIBNET.
Additionally, the non-inclusion of **article processing charges (APCs)** in the ONOS framework presents a persistent challenge. APCs are fees that authors must pay to publish their work in open-access journals, which can pose significant issues for Indian researchers. Computational biologist **Rahul Siddharthan** criticized the lack of formal mechanisms to tackle APCs, suggesting that they could hinder researchers—especially those lacking substantial grants—from publishing in prestigious journals. Although the PSA’s office has promised **discounts on APCs**, detailed provisions are yet to be finalized.
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### **Future Perspectives: Enhancing the Effects of ONOS**
The ONOS concept was initially suggested in 2020 during the tenure of **K. Vijay Raghavan**, India’s former PSA. Its rollout in 2024 brings optimism for enhanced research outcomes, particularly from low-resource institutions. However, to fully realize ONOS’s potential, policymakers must address several vital issues:
1. **Transparent Negotiations**: Ensuring that agreements with publishers fairly align India’s investment with tangible results, such as guaranteed access and cost efficiencies,