In a significant push to elevate its academic standing, the Bihar government has declared its ambition to transform the state into the most advanced research centre in eastern India. The commitment was underscored by Higher Education Minister Sunil Kumar during a key event in Patna on Thursday.
ONOS Scheme: A Gateway to Global Knowledge
Addressing a day-long 'Users’ awareness and training programme' on the 'One Nation One Subscription' (ONOS) initiative, Minister Sunil Kumar highlighted the scheme's transformative potential. He stated that ONOS is an ambitious project with far-reaching consequences for Bihar's student community and research ecosystem.
The minister emphasized that effective implementation would empower youth in remote and rural regions by granting them access to top-tier international research publications. This move is strategically designed to diminish the digital gap separating urban and rural learners and integrate Bihar's young scholars with the worldwide academic network. Kumar expressed confidence that all state universities and research institutions would see a significant boost in meaningful research endeavours as a result.
Bihar Leads in National Collaboration
Providing concrete details, Devika Pandurang Madalli, Director of the UGC's Information and Library Networking Centre (INFLIBNET), revealed a landmark achievement. Bihar has become the first state in the country where all state universities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with INFLIBNET for the ONOS scheme.
She announced that through this partnership, over 30,000 international research journals from 30 prestigious global publishers, including Elsevier, Springer, and Taylor and Francis, are now freely available to scholars and students in Bihar. To ensure smooth adoption, universities are also receiving technical support and conducting webinars facilitated by INFLIBNET.
Driving Academic Excellence and Rankings
State Higher Education Director N K Agrawal linked the ONOS initiative directly to enhanced academic performance. He believes that promoting quality research through this scheme will help higher education institutions achieve excellence, which will subsequently reflect in improved rankings and gradings by national assessment bodies like the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
Echoing the broader vision, Higher Education Secretary Rajiv Roshan described ONOS as a concrete step toward realizing the Prime Minister's call for 'Jai Vigyan, Jai Anushandhan' (Hail Science, Hail Research). He framed it as a foundational effort for building a knowledge-based and self-reliant India by 2047. Roshan confirmed that all 15 state universities would be connected to the INFLIBNET scheme shortly.
The event, organized by the state higher education department in collaboration with INFLIBNET, saw participation from college principals, heads of departments, and librarians. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Rana Singh, Director of the Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna (CIMP).
