India’s One Nation One Subscription Initiative Surpasses 113 Million Research Downloads
India’s ambitious One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) programme has achieved a remarkable milestone in its first year of implementation. Between January and December 2025, students, researchers, and faculty members across the country downloaded more than 113 million research articles through this government-backed initiative. The scheme, which provides free access to international academic journals, marks a significant leap forward in democratising scholarly resources for India’s higher education and research community.
According to data released by the Ministry of Education, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras emerged as the leading institution, recording 4.03 million downloads during this period. The strong uptake reflects the growing appetite for global research content among Indian academics and underscores the transformative impact of the programme.
How the ONOS Scheme Works
The Union Cabinet approved the ONOS initiative in November 2024, and it came into effect on 1 January 2025. The programme is being administered by the Information and Library Network Centre, an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission. The government has allocated ₹6,000 crore for the scheme’s three-year duration, spanning 2025 to 2027.
The core objective of ONOS is to provide free access to international research journals for all government-run higher education institutions and central research establishments across India. To streamline operations, the government pays publishers directly, eliminating the need for individual institutions to manage subscription fees or negotiate separate contracts.
Expansion of Research Resources
Before ONOS was introduced, ten separate journal consortia operated under various ministries, collectively offering access to roughly 8,000 journals. The new unified framework has substantially broadened this landscape. Today, the platform provides access to more than 13,000 journals from 30 leading international publishers, including prominent names such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, IEEE, Oxford University Press, and Cambridge University Press.
The beneficiary base has also grown significantly. Participation has risen from 2,300 institutions to nearly 5,800, while the number of users has expanded from 5.5 million to approximately 10 million students, researchers, and faculty members nationwide. Monthly downloads on the platform are currently averaging around 10 million articles, demonstrating sustained engagement with the available resources.
Top Performing Institutions
Beyond IIT Madras, several other institutions have shown impressive usage figures. The Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru secured second place with 2.83 million downloads. Among central universities, Banaras Hindu University recorded 1.53 million downloads, followed closely by the University of Delhi with 1.42 million.
In the state university category, Anna University led with 780,000 downloads. Other notable contributors included Jawaharlal Nehru University with 730,000 downloads, alongside significant usage from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Aligarh Muslim University.
Digital Platform and Accessibility
The entire ONOS ecosystem operates through a centralised digital portal that functions as a single access point for all participating institutions. Researchers can log in using their institutional credentials or rely on IP-based authentication to read and download articles from the available journals. This unified approach simplifies the user experience and ensures seamless access regardless of the user’s location or institutional affiliation.
The portal is managed by the Information and Library Network Centre, which oversees technical operations and coordinates with publishers to maintain uninterrupted service.
Support for Open Access Publishing
In addition to providing access to subscription-based content, the ONOS initiative offers financial support for article processing charges. This assistance enables researchers to publish in more than 430 gold open-access journals, where published articles are made freely available to readers immediately upon publication without any fees. This component of the scheme is particularly valuable for early-career researchers who may lack the funding to cover publication costs in high-impact journals.
Strengthening Research Across the Country
Government officials have highlighted that the ONOS programme is playing a crucial role in strengthening scientific and multidisciplinary research throughout India. By extending access to global research materials, the scheme is helping to level the playing field for researchers based in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, who previously faced significant barriers in accessing international journals due to subscription costs or institutional limitations.
The initiative aligns with the government’s broader vision of fostering a robust research ecosystem in the country. By removing financial obstacles and simplifying access to scholarly content, ONOS is enabling a new generation of Indian researchers to engage with cutting-edge developments in their fields and contribute meaningfully to the global body of knowledge.
The first-year results demonstrate that the demand for quality research resources is substantial and growing. As the programme continues through its three-year term, it is expected to further accelerate research output, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, and position India as a stronger player in the global academic arena.
