ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND THE SCIENTIFIC OUTPUT OF INDIA

Although scientific and technological research is universal, its actual distribution among different nations is rather skewed, with a small number of countries producing much of mainstream research being at the centre and a very large number of countries in the periphery contributing very little to the generation of new knowledge. We examine here the scientific output of India, the Third World's largest performer of science, the journals in which Indian scientists publish their work and how well Indian work is cited in the international literature. Comparing India's publication output and citation impact with those of several other countries, both developing and developed, we show that although India publishes a lot in the whole of science as well as in almost all the disciplinary categories, by and large the impact of Indian work is rather meagre. From an analysis of citation cluster data and peer evaluation carried out by an NSF panel, we identify areas of strength in Indian science. Looking at the citation profiles of many Indian journals, we infer that they are rather low in internationality, interdisciplinarity and current relevance. There are many reasons for the observed status of affairs. However, we discuss only a few, viz. inequities in opportunities to have access to current information, inadequate exposure of Third World work, and the neglect of Western scientists to take note of good work done outside their limited circle. We conclude that the skewed distribution of world science has an ethical dimension as well, beyond cognitive and social dimensions.