India cannot surpass US in science publications soon

Source: The post India cannot surpass US in science publications soon has been created, based on the article “The issue is about the ‘quality’ of India’s publications” published in “The Hindu” on 27 March 2025. India cannot surpass US in science publications soon.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper3- Achievements of Indians in science & technology

Context: At a National Science Day function in February 2025, India’s Science and Technology Minister claimed that India would surpass the U.S. in scientific publications by 2029. The article critically examines this claim using data on research output, quality, institutional performance, and ethical concerns. It argues that the claim is unrealistic and gives a misleading picture of India’s scientific progress.

For detailed information on India’s Achievements in Research Output read this article here

International Comparison of Research Output and Investment

1. Research Output: China leads with 8,98,949 publications, followed by the U.S. with 4,57,335, and India with 2,07,390.
2. Clarivate Data (2024): Reports India’s publications at 1,91,703, while the U.S. has 6,48,905. This shows a wide gap between India and the U.S.
3. Investment in R&D: India spends only 0.67% of its GDP on civilian research. This is far lower than Israel (6.3%), South Korea (4.9%), the U.S. (3.46%), and China (2.4%).
4. Impact of Investment: Countries like China and the U.S., which invest heavily in research and education, produce both higher quantity and better quality research.
5. GDP Spend and Output Correlation: The data clearly shows that higher investment in R&D results in stronger scientific performance.

Concerns in India’s Scientific Publication

1. Low R&D Spending: India’s low research funding is a major barrier to scientific progress. It limits infrastructure, training, and innovation.
2. Quality of Publications: India’s CNCI score is 0.879, while China scores 1.12 and the U.S. 1.25. India ranks 28th out of 30 countries, showing poor research impact.
3. Inadequate Performance in High-Impact Journals: India lags in top scientific journals. Between 2017–2024, India had only 305 papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, compared to 8,503 by the U.S. and 5,521 by China.
4. Ethical Concerns and Fraud: Unethical practices are widespread. A 2018 study found that 62% of the world’s fake standalone journals were published in India. The Omics group from Hyderabad, fined $50 million by the U.S. FTC in 2019, had published around 69,000 low-quality articles.

Way Forward

Quantity alone does not reflect true scientific progress. India must focus on:
• Increasing investment in research and education,
• Training young scientists better,
• Publishing in quality journals,
• Promoting ethical research practices.

As Einstein said, “Not everything that can be counted counts. Not everything that counts can be counted.”

Question for practice:

Examine whether India is realistically positioned to surpass the U.S. in scientific publications by 2029, based on current data on research output, investment, and quality.