ONE NATION ONE SUBSCRIPTION: PU HOSTS USER AWARENESS PROGRAMME FOR ACADEMICS
By Greeshma BS
December 19, 2025, Puducherry. Pondicherry University, in association with the INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar, organised a User Awareness Programme on One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) and INFLIBNET services on Thursday at the Library Annexe. The programme, supported by UGC–INFLIBNET, aimed to familiarise the academic community with national-level digital initiatives that strengthen access to scholarly resources.
ONOS, launched in January 2025, offers access to over 13,000 journals from 30 major international publishers to students, faculty, and researchers in more than 6,300 government universities, colleges, and research institutions through a unified digital portal. The scheme has a central budget allocation of around ₹6,000 crore for the three years 2025–2027, with INFLIBNET coordinating national subscription charges centrally on behalf of participating institutions.
The session began with a traditional invocation and lighting of the lamp, followed by a welcome address by Dr. M. Vijayakumar, University Librarian, who underlined the growing relevance of centrally supported e-resource access in higher education. Dr. A. S. Sivakumar, Director, Directorate of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Puducherry, in his felicitation address, emphasised the need for faculty and researchers to actively engage with platforms such as ONOS to enhance academic productivity. Shri R. Gunasekaran, Registrar, Pondicherry University, delivered the inaugural address, highlighting the institutional responsibility in promoting the informed use of digital research tools.
The Lighting of The Lamp
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Devika P. Madalli, Director, INFLIBNET Centre, provided a comprehensive overview of ONOS, describing it as a significant step towards democratising access to scholarly knowledge across universities in India by shifting journal subscriptions from fragmented, institution-specific models to a centrally negotiated national framework. She explained that ONOS enables faculty members, research scholars, and students, particularly in public universities and colleges with limited library budgets, to access high-impact international journals that were previously unaffordable for many institutions. By standardising access through a single national portal and eliminating disparities caused by institutional funding gaps, ONOS seeks to ensure that the quality of research and teaching is no longer determined by an institution’s financial capacity but by the academic merit of its scholars.
The technical sessions were particularly engaging and practical. Dr. Kruti Trivedi, Scientist D (LS), INFLIBNET, explained the structure and scope of ONOS, while Mr. Raja V., Scientist C (CS), demonstrated access mechanisms for ONOS and INFED e-resources. Post-lunch sessions focused on e-resource discovery platforms and key INFLIBNET services, including Shodhganga, IRINS, and plagiarism detection tools, which generated keen interest among participants.
An interactive question-and-answer session enabled faculty members and research scholars to seek clarifications regarding access protocols, usage analytics, and research support services. The programme concluded with a valedictory session, vote of thanks by Dr. M. Vijayakumar, and certificate distribution.
