India is one of the
fastest growing research hubs
in the world. But not all of that
research matters. And that
may be a matter of concern,
according to the QS which
took a deep look at what is be-
ing published, by who and
how much.
Between 2017 and 2022, In-
dia’s research output grew by
about 54%, according to re-
search insights database SciV-
al. This is more than double
the global average and far
greater than that of its more
academically established
western counterparts. The
global average for research
growth is at 22% between 2017
and 2022.
India’s research output
was the fourth highest world
wide (1.3 million academic pa-
pers between 2017 and 2022), be-
hind world leader China (4.5
million), the US (4.4 million)
and the UK (1.4 million). At its
current growth rate, India is
poised to surpass the UK for re-search volume in the near future. In all, India produced 1.3
million academic papers in the has scientific output that is
more than triple India’s size
2017-2022 period, generating 8.9
China has a scientific output
that is more than triple of Indian’s size and generates five times as many citations
million citations. But look clos-
er and there is another reality
at play. “When it comes to im-
pact of the research produced,
in citation count, India falls be-
hind, placing ninth in the world
for citations generated be-
tween 2017 and 2022, indicating that effort and funding would
be best directed towards high
quality, relevant research and
ensuring this research is dis-
seminated among the scholarly
community,” said QS research
director Ben Sowter.
China, on the other hand,
Times View: It is good
news that India is publishing
such a high number of
academic papers. However, the
goal should be improving the
country’s rank in the number of
citations, which is the real
indicator of the merit of an
academic paper.
and generates five times as
many citations. India’s most
prolific field of research is en-
gineering and technology
(52.6% of total research out-
put), in which its primary fo-
cus is evenly split between pet-
puter sciences, followed by an
roleum engineering and com-
almost equal proportion of re-
(36%) and life sciences and
search in natural sciences
medicine (35%). India pro-
duces 19% of its research out-
put along with international
collaborators, which is in
keeping with the global aver-
age of 21% and aligned with
that of its closest competitors.
India’s 11 public and private
Institutes of Eminence have
produced more than 1,50,000
academic papers, generated
1.4 million citations and re-
corded an average research
growth rate of 35% since 2017.