Physics Research in India: A Study of Institutional Performance based on Publications Output

Abstract

The study examines the broad characteristics of India's physics publications output, its subject areas of strength and also the extent to which country's research pursuits have technological orientation. The study is based on contributions by Indian institutions and scientists as indexed in INPSEC-Physics 1998. The study finds that India's physicsrelated contribution is significantly high (86 per cent) in Science Citation Index (SCI)-covered journals, of which 26.4 per cent was in high-impact journals (IF = 1.5). Its contributions in condensed matter physics and materials science are significantly strong and also have technological orientation. The study also shows that there are wide differences in the quantity and quality of publications output across various broad and narrow subject fields under physics. The physics research activity is led by a select number of institutions in the country. Out of 435 institutions participating in physics research, just 20 had accounted for 50 per cent of the total output. The academic sector, being the biggest of all the sectors in terms of participating institutions, made the largest contributions to the physics output, followed by R&D sector, industrial sector, and government sector. However, the share of academic sector in high-impact journals was at second rank; the R&D sector topping the list. R&D sector also exceeds all other sectors in terms of publication output per institution.

DOI: 10.14429/djlit.28.7.123