By introducing the One Nation One Subscription, or ONOS, program, the Indian government has made a significant step towards making all academic materials accessible to researchers, teachers, and students. According to a groundbreaking decision approved by the Union Cabinet, every student, teacher, and researcher in the country will have unrestricted access to worldwide journals of scientific articles and papers. Starting in January 2025, the ONOS scheme will change the face of academics in India, giving equal opportunities for learning and research.
What is the One Nation One Subscription Scheme?
The ONOS scheme is a central sector scheme designed to democratise access to scholarly resources all over the country. Its primary purpose is to allow higher education institutions, R&D laboratories, and their associated students, faculty, and researchers to access global research articles and journals. The scheme promotes an inclusive knowledge ecosystem to develop scientific research and innovation in India.
The scheme will facilitate access to academic resources by providing a unified, fully digital platform. All eligible users nationwide will benefit from a streamlined system to explore the latest scientific findings, research papers, and journal articles in their respective fields.
Know All About ONOS In Detail
How Will ONOS Work?
The Department of Higher Education will manage the ONOS platform in collaboration with the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an autonomous inter-university centre of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The ONOS platform will have a user-friendly, centralised digital portal that allows browsing and easy access to resources.
State governments shall be motivated to incorporate it into their curriculum so that every institution can benefit. Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), on its part, would periodically review the process and oversee journal output based on Indian authors through schemes offered.
Financial Support and Years
The government has accordingly sanctioned a whopping sum of ₹6,000 crores to effectively implement the ONOS scheme. The sum is allocated to support the scheme’s functioning for three consecutive calendar years: 2025, 2026, and 2027. That amount depicts how hard the government will work to reduce the distance between available resources and scholarly research.
By channelling such significant financial resources into this initiative, the government will seek to make some enduring impact on the academic and research community. The scheme is likely to consolidate earlier schemes with a vision for enhancing the reach of higher education in India.
Beneficiaries of ONOS
The ONOS scheme will benefit a vast spectrum of users, including the following:
- Students: Easy access to premium journals will enable nearly 1.8 crore students to gain deeper insight into subjects and stay abreast of global trends.
- Teachers and Researchers: There will be 6,300 institutions that can access premium content, thus setting a robust research culture for India.
- Institutions: ONOS will centralise the subscription service, relieving this burden on individual institutions and thus ensuring resource uniformity for all institutions.
The ONOS scheme will benefit nearly two crores, which falls under the directive principle of the Indian Constitution for promoting a scientific temperament.
What is in Store?
Through ONOS, users will access a vast storehouse of academic content in journals from 30 major international publishers. These publishers contribute nearly 13,000 e-journals covering disciplines such as science, technology, medicine, humanities, and social sciences.
This set of materials will help students expand their academic horizons, teachers enhance their curricula, and researchers conduct groundbreaking research.
Effectiveness and Accessibility
The ONOS platform will be fully digital and will start on January 1, 2025. Thanks to INFLIBNET’s management of the national subscription, all qualified users will have continuous access to the site. State governments will also be essential in promoting the platform inside their organisations to increase its usefulness and reach.
The government is looking for ways to guarantee offline access to resources for those with poor internet connectivity. This will improve inclusion even more, particularly in rural and isolated places, and close the digital gap.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Implementing ONOS would ensure ANRF’s success. Assessments will be carried out on resource users’ engagement, resource utilisation, and the frequency of publications by Indian authors in journals that would have appeared through the scheme.
There will be assessments repeatedly to find room for improvement and to allow this to change with the dynamism required by the user platform.
Broader Implications
ONOS is not merely journal access; it represents the paradigm shift in how India conceives education and research. A few key implications include the following:
- Advancing Research and Innovation: Equal access to quality will lead to a research-oriented culture that can catapult India to the forefront of world innovation.
- Promotion of Equity in Education: The system bridges the gap between well-endowed and resource-poor institutions, allowing each student and researcher equal opportunities for success.
- Economies of Scale: Subscriptions through centralised services are highly cost-effective compared to individual subscriptions while increasing access to resources.
- Enhancing India’s Global Reach: Better access to international research would enable Indian authors and researchers to contribute more to the global academic debate.
Overcoming Problems
Implementing such a vast project as ONOS has its share of problems:
- Publisher deals: Affordable access to premium content from international publishers requires careful planning and negotiation.
- Internet Divide: Internet connectivity would not be available in all parts of the country, restricting accessibility to some users.
- Sustainability: After the three-year initial period, making this scheme financially and operationally sustainable will be an even greater challenge.
The government can ensure the long-term success of the ONOS scheme by proactively addressing these challenges.
Conclusion
The One Nation One Subscription program is an important turning point in India’s transition to a knowledge-driven economy. The project democratises access to academic materials, enabling educators, researchers, and students to realise their full potential.
ONOS can completely transform academic research in India because of its robust funding, cutting-edge digital platform, and dedication to diversity. When it launches in January 2025, the program pledges to usher in a new age of fair access to information, setting the groundwork for a better and more knowledgeable future.
