PhD theses are now available to researchers online: UGC

"NEW DELHI, April 11, 2018: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has an Inter University Centre (IUC) called INFLIBNET (Information and Library Network) and Shodhganga@INFLIBNET centre that serve as a platform to make PhD theses available to researchers, the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Satya Pal Singh informed Lok Sabha on April 2. In a written reply to a Lok Sabha question, Dr Singh informed that the centre is “a repository of PhD theses across the nation.” “This Centre provides a platform for researchers to deposit their PhD theses and make them available to the entire scholarly community in open access,” he stated in the reply as per a PIB release. “Shodhganga,” according to its website, is the name coined to denote digital repository of Indian Electronic Theses and Dissertations set-up by the INFLIBNET Centre. The Sanskrit word “Shodh,” stands for research and discovery and “Ganga” is the holiest, largest and longest of all rivers in Indian subcontinent, it said. Since Ganga is the symbol of India’s age-long culture and civilisation, everchanging, ever-flowing, ever-loved and revered by its people, Shodhganga stands for “the reservoir of Indian intellectual output stored in a repository hosted and maintained by the INFLIBNET Centre,” it added. It provides a platform for research scholars to deposit their PhD theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. It is set up by using open source digital repository software called DSpace developed by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in partnership between Hewlett-Packard (HP). The repository has the ability to capture, index, store, disseminate and preserve ETDs (Electronic Theses and Dissertations) submitted by the researcher, the website stated. As per the UGC Notification (Minimum Standards & Procedure for Award of MPhil/ PhD Degree, Regulation, 2016) on May 5, 2016, every researcher in universities have to submit an electronic version of theses and dissertations by the researchers in universities. Such submissions are available on Shodhganga@INFLIBNET. Online availability of electronic theses through centrally-maintained digital repositories, not only ensure easy access and archiving of Indian doctoral theses but will also help in raising the standard and quality of research, it said. “This would overcome serious problem of duplication of research and poor quality resulting from the ‘poor visibility’ and the ‘unseen’ factor in research output.” Meanwhile, the MoS also informed the lower house of the Parliament that the number of PhD students has been on the rise. As per All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) data for 2016-17, the number of students enrolled was 141037 in various disciplines including Agriculture, Arts, Commerce, Computer Science/Applications, Education, Engineering/ Technology, Law, Management, Medicine, Science, Veterinary Science and others, he added."