Based on a scientometric analysis conducted by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, India’s research output in chemistry is lagging in comparison to its global peers, especially China. Using the aggregator Scopus’ database, researchers looked at the 25-year period of 1991–2015, finding that although the number of India’s chemistry research papers steadily increased during that time, especially from 2007–2014, overall the nation’s output was much below the world average. Within this period, output increased at a CAGR of 8.9%, and citations of at least one Indian author in leading chemical journals was above the world average.

Despite this, overall Indian representation in global chemistry research has been low. For example, India’s share of papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society was close to 1%, a stark contrast from the US, Germany and China, which had shares of 58%, 8% and 5%, respectively. Similarly, in Germany’s international Angewandte Chemie journal, India had a share of 1% of research papers, while the US, Germany and China had shares of 25%, 28% and 10%, respectively.

In the top percentile of the most commonly cited chemistry papers, India represented a minimal share of output at 2%, whereas China is the world leader with 38%. China is one of the top four countries that have the largest number of highly cited papers in 11 out of 27 fields, but India’s output is mostly limited to chemical engineering.

The analysis indicates that although India is making progress in increasing its research output, it has been slow. To combat this, the analysis recommends spending more on R&D and creating more inter- and multidisciplinary approaches to science. For example, Indian academic institutes still separate physical, organic and inorganic chemistry as standalone subjects—combining these fields could promote better research and collaboration. The analysis also suggests that the government continues the increase in fellowships and grants to reverse the “brain drain” in the country.

Source: Current Science