Indian researchers expand global reach

During the last five years, Indian research and development practitioners' influence has been significantly visible in the global arena.

The increased recognition of the contributions by Indian researchers is evident from the growing number of Indian research papers and worldwide citations to Indian research.

According to Thomson Scientific, from 2001 to 2005, the number of research papers by Indian R&D specialists and researchers was 98,558, compared with 75,923 written in 1996-2000. Thomson Scientific is an arm of Thomson Corporation that provides integrated information solution for businesses and professionals.

"This is an example of how researchers in India are now reaching the level of excellence in the global arena with their scholarly and scientific research," said Keith MacGregor, executive vice-president, academic & government market, Thomson Scientific.

Again, the number of citations to Indian researchers has gone up to 221,563 during 2001-2005 from 113,824 as reported for the period 1996-2000. "This is the third highest rate of increase in the total citations in the world, after China and South Korea, for countries with over 100,000 citations during 2001-05," the report said.

The five scientific fields where Indian researchers have scored the highest against the world average are chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science and material sciences.

India ranks 13th in the number of publications published during January 1996 to April 2006. However, in five fields that include agricultural sciences, chemistry, material sciences, plant & animal science and physics, India has found a place among the top ten, according to Essential Science Indicators, the research information solutions by Thomson Scientific.

The US ranks number one followed by Japan and Germany, in terms of the number of publication during this period.

As a part of its India Research Day activity, Thomson Scientific has awarded five researchers from India in recognition of their contribution to research and development worldwide.

They are Kalyanmoy Deb of IIT, Kanpur (Computer Science), Gautam R Desiraju of University of Hyderabad (Chemistry), Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre of Advance Scientific Research, Karnataka (Materials Science), Ashok Pandey of Biotech Research Society of India, Kerala (Biology & Biochemistry) and Ashoke Sen of Harish Chandra Research Institute, UP (Physics).