Navigating India’s Changing Scholarly Publishing Landscape

India is rapidly becoming one of the most important and closely watched markets in scholarly publishing. From the launch of the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) initiative to the continued growth of research output and open access publishing, the scale and pace of change are significant.

But India is also a complex market. Institutional structures, purchasing dynamics and research priorities vary widely across regions, disciplines and organisations. Success also depends on long-term relationships, local understanding and the ability to engage effectively with institutions, researchers and consortia.

In this two-part series, we explore both the strategic implications of India’s evolving research landscape and the practical realities of supporting publishers in one of the world’s most dynamic academic markets.

Part one examines the impact of ONOS and what it means for publishers navigating large-scale national access models. Part two looks at the operational side of the market, including institutional engagement, awareness building and the role of long-term local relationships in supporting sustainable growth.

Part 1: Understanding India’s ONOS Transformation

When the Indian government launched One Nation One Subscription (ONOS), a programme giving every student, researcher and academic at more than 7,000 government-funded institutions access to world-class research content, it drew immediate attention across the scholarly publishing world. Nothing quite like it had been attempted at this scale before, and other countries are now watching closely to see how it develops.

For Accucoms, ONOS is both a major responsibility and a good example of what local market knowledge looks like in practice.

Accucoms’ role in ONOS

ONOS currently brings together 32 publishers, with their content made available to millions of users across India through a centrally funded government initiative overseen by the Ministry of Education and coordinated operationally by INFLIBNET. Accucoms represents five of those 32 publishers, more than any other agent.

Reaching that point took time. Negotiations for the current phase involved a much larger pool of publishers, and the process of arriving at a final agreement was lengthy and complex. The five publishers Accucoms represents — including the American Physical Society, Annual Reviews, the American Society for Microbiology, AIAA and SPIE — are leaders in their fields spanning physics, microbiology, aerospace engineering and photonics. Their inclusion reflects both the strength of the content and the relationships Accucoms has built with the consortium authorities over many years.

Those long-standing relationships have also given Accucoms a view into how ONOS is being discussed and understood across the community. They are the result of steady work, strong market knowledge and trust built over time with institutions and ministries.

Making the case for quality, not just scale

As ONOS moves towards renewal, one question will matter more and more: how should value be judged across such a large and varied body of content?

For some publishers, especially those in specialised subject areas, usage on its own is only part of the picture. Their journals may serve smaller research communities, but often in fields that matter strategically. Accucoms is already helping publishers prepare that case for future renewal discussions, ensuring specialised content is assessed on strategic value and research impact, not volume alone.

For publishers with broader subject coverage, the case is simpler: strong usage counts. Even so, the numbers still need context and Accucoms helps publishers present that performance clearly, backed by evidence and shaped by a close understanding of how the consortium works.

The Open Access opportunity beyond readership

There is another side to ONOS that gets less attention than the subscription deal itself. Alongside access to content, the Ministry of Education has set aside a separate budget, starting at $19 million and rising year by year, to cover article processing charges for researchers publishing with any of the 32 participating publishers.

In practical terms, that means researchers at eligible institutions can publish open access with ONOS publishers without having to cover the APC themselves. For publishers with fully open access journals, that creates a significant additional opportunity. Part of Accucoms’ job is to make sure that opportunity is understood in the market, both by raising awareness among institutions and researchers and by helping publishers decide how to respond.

Looking ahead to ONOS Phase Two

Attention is already turning to the programme’s renewal phase, with discussions expected to begin well before the current agreements conclude. For Accucoms, that means continuing the ongoing work of supporting participating publishers, monitoring shifts in policy and institutional priorities, and identifying future opportunities within the wider portfolio.

India was the first market to attempt a national initiative on this scale. As other countries watch ONOS closely, Accucoms is helping publishers understand not just the policy itself, but what successful participation looks like in practice.

In part two, we look at what successful publisher engagement in India requires on the ground, from institutional relationships to awareness building and ongoing market support.