New System of Approving Research Journals Launched

In its response to an investigation by The Indian Express on how India has emerged as one of the biggest markets for “predatory” and substandard journals, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched a Consortium of Academic and Research Ethics (CARE) to “identify, continuously monitor and maintain” UGC-CARE Reference List of Quality Journals across disciplines. This new list of approved journals will be available at newly launched website https://ugccare.unipune.ac.in. The UGC on Friday launched the new system on which it was working since the series was published in The Indian Express in July last year. In a series of investigative reports, The Indian Express reported on how over 300 “predatory” publishers bring out journals that claim to be international and publish papers for a “charge” ranging from $30-$1,800 per piece. UGC secretary Rajnish Jain has issued the notification in which there is a six-point advice to the academic society. He asked them to avoid publishing in predatory/dubious publications and not to consider any publication which comes out in a dubious journal. Vice Chancellors, selection committees, research supervisors and guides have been advised to ensure that their decision are primarily based on quality of research work and not merely on the number of publications.