Open access publishing, ANRF support can make India a research superpower, says Springer Nature CPO Jagadeesan

Springer Nature aims to make India a research superpower through open access publishing and collaboration with government institutions and researchers.

Springer Nature, which has been advancing discovery globally for last 180 years by catering to the requirement of the global research community, said open access publishing and the right environment created by the Indian government for research would make India a research superpower. 

“With Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), right environment has been created. There is going to be a good public- private partnership. And Springer Nature wants to work with the government institutions and researchers to make India a research superpower,” Harsh Jegadeesan, Chief Publishing Officer, Springer Nature, said in an interview.

Stating that it cannot be done without open access publishing, he said open access would make India become a leader in research like how open source had helped the country become a leader in technology.  He said India could play a significant role in research in the fields of food security and energy security. 

“We work with the United Nations in terms of having a clear sustainable development roadmap. And I think India can play a significant role there,” he added. 

Springer Nature, with brands like Nature, Springer, Macmillan has 9,000 people working for it globally including 25% of its workforce based in India. The company has plans to hire more people in India to support its global operations.

“I am really excited to see the growth that India and the strides that India is making. It’s burgeoning research, India is number three in terms of research output behind China and the U.S., even though India’s research spending compared to its GDP, is not as much,” he said.  

Compared with the spending globally, India spends 0.7 or 0.6% of its GDP on research, compared with 2-4% of the GDP by China, U.S. or even South Korea. “Just to give that in context, India’s research spending overall per year is $40 billion while it is $400 billion by China,” he said.