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ONOS 2026 | One Nation One Subscription Complete Guide India

One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) — Complete Guide for Indian Researchers 2026

Free Access to 13,000+ Journals | ₹6,000 Crore Scheme | Who Is Eligible | How to Access | APC Support | Publishers List

Published: August 2026  |  By ResearchJournalRank Team  |  Sources: PIB, onos.gov.in, INFLIBNET, Cabinet Press Release

 

📢 Latest Update: ONOS is conducting a webinar on 'One Nation One Subscription and APC Support' on August 28, 2026 at 11:30 AM IST. Register at onos.gov.in

 

What is One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)?

One Nation One Subscription also known as PM-ONOS is one of the most significant government initiatives for Indian academic research in decades. Approved by the Union Cabinet on November 25, 2024 and launched in January 2025, ONOS is a ₹6,000 crore scheme that provides free access to over 13,000 international research journals from 30 major global publishers to every student, faculty member, researcher, and scientist at more than 6,300 government higher education institutions and central R&D institutions across India.

Before ONOS, a researcher at a well-funded IIT had access to thousands of journals while a researcher at a state college or a government university in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 city might have access to only a few hundred, or none at all. A single Elsevier or Springer subscription could cost an institution ₹50,000 to ₹5 lakh per year. ONOS eliminates this inequality entirely by centralising the subscription at the national level the government pays once, and every eligible institution gets full access.

For 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers at government institutions across India, ONOS means that the barrier between you and the world's best research Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, Nature Portfolio, IEEE, Oxford, Cambridge, and 22 more publishers — no longer exists. This guide explains everything you need to know: how ONOS works, whether your institution is eligible, how to access the journals, and how to use the APC support fund to publish your own research in top open-access journals.

 

ONOS 2026 Key Facts at a Glance

ONOS Feature	Details
Full Name	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) / PM-ONOS
Approved By	Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi November 25, 2024
Launched	January 2025 (Phase 1)
Active Years	2025, 2026, and 2027 (3-year scheme)
Total Budget	₹6,000 crore for 3 years (2025–2027)
APC Support Budget	₹150 crore per year for APC support for Indian authors
Journals Covered	13,000+ international e-journals from 30 major publishers
Institutions Covered	6,300+ government HEIs and central government R&D institutions
Beneficiaries	1.8 crore+ students, faculty, researchers, and scientists
Access Portal	e-Shodh Sindhu (ess.inflibnet.ac.in)
Managed By	INFLIBNET Centre under UGC / Ministry of Education
Policy Framework	Aligned with NEP 2020, Viksitbharat@2047, and ANRF

 

Which Publishers and Journals Are Included in ONOS?

ONOS covers 13,000+ journals from 30 major international publishers. This is the most comprehensive research journal access program any country has launched at a national level. Here are the key publishers included:

 

#	Publisher	Journals Available	Fields Covered
1	Elsevier	2,500+ journals	Medicine, Engineering, Science, Social Sciences
2	Springer Nature	2,900+ journals	Life Sciences, Medicine, Physics, Chemistry
3	Wiley	1,700+ journals	Science, Engineering, Business, Health Sciences
4	Taylor & Francis	2,700+ journals	Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM, Education
5	Sage Publications	1,000+ journals	Social Sciences, Education, Health, Business
6	Oxford University Press	400+ journals	Medicine, Humanities, Law, Social Sciences
7	Cambridge University Press	400+ journals	Science, Humanities, Social Sciences, Law
8	American Chemical Society	60+ journals	Chemistry, Materials Science, Biochemistry
9	Royal Society of Chemistry	40+ journals	Chemistry, Environmental Science
10	Institute of Physics (IOP)	90+ journals	Physics, Engineering, Materials Science
11	IEEE	200+ journals	Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, AI
12	Nature Portfolio	50+ journals	Multidisciplinary science, Medicine, Biotech
—	18 more publishers	1,000+ journals	Various disciplines across all fields

 

What this means in practice: If you are at an eligible government institution, you can now read the full text of articles in journals like Nature, The Lancet, Cell, Science of the Total Environment, Journal of Business Research, IEEE Transactions, and thousands more at no cost to you or your institution. Content that previously required institutional subscriptions costing lakhs of rupees is now freely accessible through e-Shodh Sindhu.

 

Who Is Eligible for ONOS Complete Eligibility Guide

ONOS covers government-funded higher education institutions and central government R&D institutions. Here is the complete eligibility breakdown:

 

Institution Type	Eligible	Examples
Central Universities	Yes fully covered	JNU, BHU, AMU, Hyderabad Central University, Delhi University
IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology)	Yes fully covered	IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, all 23 IITs
NITs (National Institutes of Technology)	Yes fully covered	NIT Trichy, NIT Surathkal, NIT Warangal, all 31 NITs
IISc and IISERs	Yes fully covered	IISc Bangalore, IISER Pune, IISER Kolkata, all IISERs
AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sci.)	Yes fully covered	AIIMS New Delhi, AIIMS Bhopal, all 22 AIIMS
State Government Universities & Colleges	Yes fully covered	All state government-funded HEIs across India
Central Government R&D Institutions	Yes fully covered	CSIR labs, ICMR centres, DBT institutes, DST labs, DRDO
Private Universities & Colleges	Not included	ONOS covers only government-funded institutions
Deemed Universities (Private)	Not included	Privately funded deemed universities are not eligible
Individual Researchers (no affiliation)	Not included	Must be affiliated with an eligible institution to access

 

If you are unsure whether your institution is eligible: Visit onos.gov.in for the official list of all registered institutions. If your institution is government-funded but not yet registered, your institution's library or research coordinator should contact INFLIBNET to initiate registration. Many institutions joined ONOS in Phase 1 (2025) but registration is still ongoing for some.

 

Before ONOS vs After ONOS What Changed for Indian Researchers

Situation	Before ONOS	After ONOS
Journal access at state universities	Limited to a few hundred journals subscribed individually cost ₹50,000–₹5 lakh/year per institution	13,000+ journals from 30 major publishers free, covered centrally by government
Access for researchers in Tier 2/3 cities	Often minimal small colleges could not afford major publisher subscriptions	Same full access as IITs and central universities digital platform, no geographic barrier
Elsevier journals	Subscription required individually costly	Fully accessible via ONOS for all eligible institutions
Nature/Springer journals	Most articles behind paywall without subscription	Accessible through Springer Nature's ONOS participation
Publication costs (APC)	₹1,00,000–₹8,00,000 per paper in top OA journals	APC support of ₹150 crore/year available discounts on APC for ONOS authors
Inter-library difference	IITs had access to everything; state colleges had access to little	Equalised access all government institutions on the same platform
PhD student access from home	Possible only via VPN or library terminals	Digital access through e-Shodh Sindhu accessible from any device

 

The most significant change for PhD students: Researchers at state universities and smaller government colleges now have the same journal access as researchers at IITs and central universities. The knowledge inequality that has existed in Indian academia for decades where your institution's budget determined what you could read has been fundamentally addressed by ONOS.

 

How to Access ONOS Journals Step by Step

Accessing ONOS journals is fully digital no physical visits, no printed forms, no waiting. Here is the step-by-step process:

 

Step	Action	Detail
1	Check your institution's eligibility	Confirm your institution is a government HEI or central R&D institution. Visit onos.gov.in to see the full list of eligible institutions
2	Go to e-Shodh Sindhu portal	Access the portal at ess.inflibnet.ac.in — this is the official INFLIBNET platform through which ONOS journals are delivered
3	Log in with institutional credentials	Use the login credentials provided by your institution's library. If you don't have credentials, contact your college or university library immediately
4	Search for your journal or article	Use the portal's search function to find journals by name, publisher, or subject. Browse by publisher to see what is available through each of the 30 ONOS publishers
5	Access full-text articles	Once logged in, full-text access is available for all ONOS-covered journal articles no additional payment or request needed
6	Access from off-campus	Many institutions provide VPN or IP-authenticated access for off-campus use. Contact your library to enable remote access to ONOS journals

 

Important: ONOS access is IP-authenticated journals recognise your institution's IP address range and grant access automatically when you are on campus. For off-campus access, your institution needs to set up VPN or proxy access through their library. If you are having trouble accessing ONOS journals, contact your institution's library first they manage the access credentials and remote access setup.

 

Official ONOS portal: onos.gov.in

e-Shodh Sindhu access portal: ess.inflibnet.ac.in

 

APC Support Under ONOS Publish in Top Journals for Free

One of the most important and least discussed components of ONOS is the APC (Article Processing Charge) support fund. ONOS allocates ₹150 crore per year specifically to help Indian researchers publish in high-quality open-access journals at reduced or zero cost.

What APC support means: Top open-access journals like those in the Nature Portfolio, Lancet Digital Health, or PLOS Medicine charge APCs ranging from ₹80,000 to ₹9,00,000 per paper. For most Indian researchers, these fees are simply unaffordable. The ONOS APC fund is designed to bridge this gap, allowing Indian researchers to publish in top international open-access journals with financial support from the government.

How to access APC support:

1. Check if your target journal's publisher is a participant in the ONOS APC scheme not all 30 ONOS publishers have APC discount agreements, but many do
2. Contact your institution's library or research office they manage APC support applications and can guide you through the process
3. Submit your APC support request through INFLIBNET's mechanism the process is being streamlined in 2026 and the August 28, 2026 ONOS webinar specifically addresses APC support procedures
4. Keep your paper's acceptance letter, the journal's APC invoice, and your institutional affiliation documents ready for the support application

 

Note for researchers at ONOS-eligible institutions: Several major publishers in the ONOS consortium have agreed to provide APC discounts or waivers for Indian corresponding authors from eligible institutions, even outside the formal APC fund. When submitting to any Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, or Taylor & Francis journal, check whether your ONOS institutional affiliation qualifies you for a reduced APC many do.

 

ONOS and Journal Selection How It Changes Your Research Strategy

ONOS fundamentally changes how Indian researchers should approach journal selection and literature review. Here is what changes in your research workflow:

Literature Review

With ONOS, your literature review can now access the full text of articles across 13,000+ journals not just abstracts. This means you can read, cite, and build on research that was previously paywalled. A comprehensive literature review that was once constrained by your institution's subscription budget is now constrained only by the quality of your search strategy.

Journal Selection for Submission

With ONOS providing APC support and discounts at participating publishers, your journal selection strategy can now include journals you might previously have ruled out on cost grounds. An Elsevier Q1 journal that previously required a ₹3,00,000 APC may now be accessible through ONOS APC support. Always check APC eligibility for your specific target journal under ONOS before ruling it out on cost.

Inter-Institutional Collaboration

ONOS equalises access across all government institutions meaning researchers at state colleges now have the same literature access as those at IITs. This is expected to significantly increase research collaboration between institutions that previously had very different resource bases.

 

For finding verified Scopus-indexed journals to target for submission with SJR, CiteScore, quartile, and open access status use the free Journal Suggester.

 

ONOS Impact on Indian Research Why This Matters

ONOS is not just an access program it is a structural intervention in India's research ecosystem. Here is why it matters:

• India ranks 3rd globally in research output by volume ONOS is designed to improve quality and impact alongside volume, by giving every researcher access to the best global literature
• Before ONOS, citation disadvantage was structural: researchers without journal access could not build on the latest work, leading to research that duplicated what was already known elsewhere
• ONOS directly supports NEP 2020's goal of making India a global knowledge hub by 2047 universal access to knowledge is a prerequisite for world-class research
• The ₹150 crore annual APC support fund will enable Indian researchers to publish in top open-access journals that were previously inaccessible on cost grounds increasing India's visibility in global research databases
• ANRF (Anusandhan National Research Foundation) will monitor ONOS usage and publication outputs data on how access translates to research productivity will inform future policy

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: My college is a state government college am I eligible for ONOS?

Yes state government colleges are fully eligible for ONOS. The scheme covers all government-funded higher education institutions, including state government universities, state government colleges, government polytechnics, and government professional colleges (engineering, medical, law, education). The eligibility is based on government funding, not on ranking or tier. Check your specific institution's registration status at onos.gov.in or contact INFLIBNET directly.

Q2: I am at a private university can I access ONOS?

No ONOS currently covers only government-funded institutions. Private universities, private deemed universities, and private colleges are not eligible for ONOS access, regardless of their ranking or funding model. Researchers at private institutions should continue using their institution's existing subscriptions, inter-library loan services, and legitimate open-access repositories. ResearchJournalRank's tools including the Scopus Article Finder and Journal Suggester are available free to all researchers regardless of institution type.

Q3: How many journals does ONOS include and which are the most important ones?

ONOS includes 13,000+ journals from 30 major publishers. The most significant in terms of coverage and impact include: from Elsevier all ScienceDirect journals including The Lancet, Cell Press journals, and all RELX group titles; from Springer Nature Nature Portfolio journals, BMC journals, and all Springer imprints; from Wiley all Wiley Online Library journals; from Taylor & Francis all T&F and CRC Press journals; from IEEE all IEEE Xplore journals; and from Oxford and Cambridge University Presses their complete journal collections. This is effectively every major international research journal that Indian institutions were previously subscribing to individually, now centralised.

Q4: Does ONOS include Scopus-indexed journals?

Yes the vast majority of journals in the ONOS consortium are Scopus-indexed. Publishers like Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, IEEE, Oxford, and Cambridge all publish primarily Scopus-indexed journals. ONOS journals include Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 Scopus journals across all disciplines. To verify whether a specific journal is Scopus-indexed and to check its quartile and CiteScore, use the free journal browser at researchjournalrank no subscription needed.

Q5: What is the August 28, 2026 ONOS webinar about?

ONOS is conducting an official webinar on 'One Nation One Subscription and APC Support' on August 28, 2026 at 11:30 AM IST. The webinar specifically covers how researchers at eligible institutions can access APC support for publishing in open-access journals under the ONOS framework. This is an important event for any Indian researcher who wants to publish in a high-APC open-access journal using government support. Register at onos.gov.in.

Q6: Can PhD students use ONOS journals for their literature review?

Yes ONOS access is available to all registered members of eligible institutions, including PhD students, JRF/SRF fellows, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and technical staff. PhD students at government universities and colleges can access the full text of all 13,000+ ONOS journals for their literature reviews, systematic searches, and research. Access requires institutional login credentials obtain these from your department or university library.

Q7: Does ONOS replace the need to check if a journal is predatory?

No ONOS provides access to legitimate journals from its 30 partner publishers. However, ONOS does not protect you from submitting to predatory journals that are not part of the ONOS consortium. The ONOS access list covers reading established publisher content it does not evaluate every journal in the world for predatory status. Before submitting any paper to any journal, always verify it is not predatory using the free Predatory Journal Checker, regardless of whether you accessed their papers through ONOS.

Q8: Will ONOS continue beyond 2027?

The current ONOS scheme is approved and funded for 2025, 2026, and 2027. The ANRF (Anusandhan National Research Foundation) is mandated to review ONOS usage data periodically and will use publication and usage metrics to inform future policy. Given that ONOS is a flagship scheme aligned with NEP 2020 and Viksitbharat@2047, the intent is clearly long-term. A renewal or expanded version for 2028 onwards is widely expected, though formal approval for the post-2027 phase has not yet been announced as of August 2026.

 

Conclusion

One Nation One Subscription is the single most important change in Indian academic research infrastructure in recent memory. For 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers at government institutions, ONOS means the knowledge gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2/3 institutions has been eliminated everyone now has access to the same 13,000+ international journals from the world's leading publishers.

If you are at an eligible institution and have not yet accessed ONOS journals, do so immediately through e-Shodh Sindhu at ess.inflibnet.ac.in. If you are planning a publication and have been deterred by APC costs, attend the August 28, 2026 ONOS webinar on APC support or contact your institution's library to explore what APC discounts are available to you as an ONOS-affiliated researcher.

ResearchJournalRank works alongside ONOS use our free tools to find, compare, and verify journals as you plan your next publication.

 

Find the right Scopus journal for your paper: Journal Suggester

Verify any journal is legitimate: Predatory Journal Checker

Check journal quartile and CiteScore: Scopus Indexed Journals

Compare journals side by side: Compare Journals