Bibliometric Analysis of Earth System Science Research in India Shows Significant Increase in Research Output

NEW DELHI:
Clarivate Analytics, the global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics to accelerate the pace of innovation, has authored a study analyzing research of Earth System Science in India and the world.
The report was launched on 30th January at National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Noida by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India and Dr. M. Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences and other senior officers from the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Clarivate Analytics assessed the quantity, quality, and international collaboration with global research in Earth System Science. The study also analyzed the research output of India in Earth System Science and also the contribution of the research institutions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). The study covered two time-periods: 1996-2005 and 2006-2015 and focused on six research areas under the Earth System Science (Antarctic research; Arctic research; Himalayan research; Atmospheric research; Geo research and Ocean research).
The report, commissioned by MoES, showed that:
1. In the recent decade (2006-2015), India ranked first in Himalayas research (with more than 63 % of Himalaya research publications featuring an Indian author), 9th in Atmospheric research, 12th in Geo Research, 15th in Ocean research, 16th in Antarctic research and 25th in Arctic research
2. India more than doubled its research output in Earth System Science as measured by number of publications from 8,753 to 19,938 between the two 10-year periods
3. Both citation impact (0.62 to 0.72), a measure of research impact, and percentage of international collaboration (22.6% to 29.9%) in India’s research, increased between the two 10-year periods
4. Indian contribution to research output increased from 2.6% to 3.5% of the total worldwide research published in Earth System Science between the two 10-year periods.
5.Indian funding organizations, such as MoES, Department of Science & Technology, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Department of Space, funded most of India’s highly cited papers in Atmospheric research, Geo research, Ocean research and Himalayas research.
6. Top 3 MoES institutions in terms of number of publications for the two decades under study are Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR).
“The report is an independent evaluation of India’s research performance in earth system science and it’s standing in the global research landscape in this area. It will help the research and development landscape in earth system science thereby further fostering the research awareness and research culture at the Ministry of Earth Sciences”, said Dr. M. Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences. “It also provides an opportunity to understand India’s research strengths and weaknesses in earth system science. India can also implement measures to enhance the research and development outputs further.”
“Clarivate Analytics supports scientific research and policy-making organizations around the world with scientific data, analytical tools and expert consulting services to assess and promote research impact”, explained Arvind Pachhapur, South Asia Head, Clarivate Analytics. “We are honored to have the opportunity to develop a report on the research landscape in earth system science to highlight the increasingly positive contributions from India and the impact on the global research landscape.”