 "Rupee slide worries academia; foreign titles may be axed")
Sustained weakness in Rupee has posed a challenge before the country’s academic institutions. With US dollar hovering around Rs 60, the cost of foreign books and journals are feared to escalate.
The recent surge in the Indian rupee has prompted libraries of many premiere institutes and universities to either reconsider their orders for foreign books and journals or look for a local alternate.
This, according to academic experts, has raised concerns about the quality of academic output from the institutions. Though most libraries in the country are associated with the University Grants Commission (UGC) for online journals, many of them still remain vulnerable to currency fluctuations due to their dependence on international periodicals and books.
“Every year we order about 2000-2500 such books. However, the rupee depreciation is costing us over 10% more for ordering these books. Since we usually order throughout the year, this academic year we may have to reduce the order," said a source at the institute's library on condition of anonymity.
The same holds true for the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn) which too orders more than 3000 books.
"Each book costs us around $60-65. Our buying power has reduced due to rupee depreciation. If this continues till December it will hit us hard. Even the e-journals have been costlier. However, as of now our budget for ordering books published outside the country is limited," said the librarian at IIT-Gn.
At IIM Bangalore, the premier B-school spends annually around Rs 19 lakh on ordering books. "However, this year the spending will grow due to rupee weakening," the source added.
High cost may prompt institutions to put a scissor on the orders of foreign titles, which is feared to affect research activity. According to insiders, academic streams like science and technology, pure sciences and information technology are some of the areas where foreign books and journals are used in large number. Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, which is allocated Rs 55 lakh for library under UGC grants for five years, is also seeing a decline in its orders for foreign titles for select streams.
“Around 70-80% of our budget goes for science and technology journals and books. Thought we have increased our dependence on online content from UGC Infonet consortium, the foreign books remain a major concern for us,” said Mayank Trivedi, librarian at Hansa Mehta Library of MSU – Vadodara.
The university data showed that the number of print journals subscribed has gradually come down from 392 in 2008 to 287 in 2012. The library has over 6,000 full text open source journals, which are mainly sourced from UGC Infonet Consortium.
Since, January 2011 rupee has fallen by over 32% against the US Greenback.
“Indian institutes are vulnerable to currency fluctuations. Journal may not have much impact, but foreign book purchases will get adversely affected due to currency depreciation,” said Anil Gupta, faculty at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).
However, Gupta also offers a lesson in this. “This is a golden opportunity for local publishers and authors to cater to the Indian market. They should turn this crisis into an opportunity for them. Authors will have an incentive to write for Indian market as foreign books get costlier,” Gupta, who is also a founder of National Innovation Foundation (NIF).
The library sources at IIM-A informed that the institute places orders for foreign books in November-December. Hence the impact of recent slide in Rupee value against dollar will only be known in the next cycle.
Considering the frequent fluctuations in currency rates, Nirma University has evolved a model to keep a margin fund to safeguard against the rupee slide.
“Since 2008 we have been keeping provision for currency fluctuation and inflation. So, even if the prices go up for journals or books, we don’t deny to order that,” said Monita Shastri, chief librarian, Nirma University.
The recent surge in the Indian rupee has prompted libraries of many premiere institutes and universities to either reconsider their orders for foreign books and journals or look for a local alternate.
This, according to academic experts, has raised concerns about the quality of academic output from the institutions. Though most libraries in the country are associated with the University Grants Commission (UGC) for online journals, many of them still remain vulnerable to currency fluctuations due to their dependence on international periodicals and books.
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One of the many such cases is the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), which is mulling to cut down on number of books being ordered from outside the country.
“Every year we order about 2000-2500 such books. However, the rupee depreciation is costing us over 10% more for ordering these books. Since we usually order throughout the year, this academic year we may have to reduce the order," said a source at the institute's library on condition of anonymity.
The same holds true for the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn) which too orders more than 3000 books.
"Each book costs us around $60-65. Our buying power has reduced due to rupee depreciation. If this continues till December it will hit us hard. Even the e-journals have been costlier. However, as of now our budget for ordering books published outside the country is limited," said the librarian at IIT-Gn.
At IIM Bangalore, the premier B-school spends annually around Rs 19 lakh on ordering books. "However, this year the spending will grow due to rupee weakening," the source added.
High cost may prompt institutions to put a scissor on the orders of foreign titles, which is feared to affect research activity. According to insiders, academic streams like science and technology, pure sciences and information technology are some of the areas where foreign books and journals are used in large number. Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, which is allocated Rs 55 lakh for library under UGC grants for five years, is also seeing a decline in its orders for foreign titles for select streams.
“Around 70-80% of our budget goes for science and technology journals and books. Thought we have increased our dependence on online content from UGC Infonet consortium, the foreign books remain a major concern for us,” said Mayank Trivedi, librarian at Hansa Mehta Library of MSU – Vadodara.
The university data showed that the number of print journals subscribed has gradually come down from 392 in 2008 to 287 in 2012. The library has over 6,000 full text open source journals, which are mainly sourced from UGC Infonet Consortium.
Since, January 2011 rupee has fallen by over 32% against the US Greenback.
“Indian institutes are vulnerable to currency fluctuations. Journal may not have much impact, but foreign book purchases will get adversely affected due to currency depreciation,” said Anil Gupta, faculty at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).
However, Gupta also offers a lesson in this. “This is a golden opportunity for local publishers and authors to cater to the Indian market. They should turn this crisis into an opportunity for them. Authors will have an incentive to write for Indian market as foreign books get costlier,” Gupta, who is also a founder of National Innovation Foundation (NIF).
The library sources at IIM-A informed that the institute places orders for foreign books in November-December. Hence the impact of recent slide in Rupee value against dollar will only be known in the next cycle.
Considering the frequent fluctuations in currency rates, Nirma University has evolved a model to keep a margin fund to safeguard against the rupee slide.
“Since 2008 we have been keeping provision for currency fluctuation and inflation. So, even if the prices go up for journals or books, we don’t deny to order that,” said Monita Shastri, chief librarian, Nirma University.