Status of India in science and technology as reflected in its publication output in the Scopus international database, 1996–2006

Abstract

This paper seeks to provide current indicators on Indian science and technology for measuring the country’s progress in research. The study uses for the purpose 11 years publications data on India and top 20 productive countries as drawn from the Scopus database for the period 1996 to 2006. The study examines country performance on several measures including country publication share in the world research output, country publication share in various subjects in the national context and in the global context, patterns of research communication in core Indian domestic and international journals, geographical distribution of publications, share of international collaborative papers at the national level as well as across subjects and characteristics of high productivity institutions, scientists and cited papers. The paper also compares the similarity of Indian research profile with top 20 productive countries. The findings of the study should be of special significance to the planners & policy-makers as they have implications for the long term S&T planning of the country.