India’s ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ (ONOS) plan, approved on November 25, aims to improve public access to research by negotiating a single national subscription fee for journals. First proposed in the 2020 draft National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy, ONOS addresses the high costs journals charge for access. It replaces consortium-based negotiations with a centralized approach, allowing even underfunded government institutes access to expensive journals.
However, ONOS is limited to publicly funded institutes and perpetuates reliance on commercial publishers. Many journals profit from publicly funded research while charging for access. Though ONOS reduces these fees, the ₹6,000 crore allocation over three years for 30 publishers raises concerns, especially given stagnant research and development spending as a share of GDP.
Critics argue the government could have promoted open-access models like ‘green’ or ‘diamond’ to ensure free public access or supported Indian journals better attuned to local scholars’ needs. Additionally, ONOS overlooks India’s potential to influence global research access norms and lacks transparency regarding journal selection and monitoring.
With many journals adopting ‘gold’ open-access and preprints gaining popularity, ONOS appears misaligned with evolving trends. The absence of consultation with institutes further weakens its case, making celebrations premature.
