Research Misconduct in Indian Academia: A Growing Concern
India's academic community is grappling with rising cases of research misconduct, including data manipulation, plagiarism, and fake peer review, which threaten the country's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
Research MisconductAcademic IntegrityIndian AcademiaPublication EthicsRetractionReal EstateMay 18, 2025
In September 2024, the journal Drug Safety retracted a study conducted by researchers from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on the long-term safety of Covaxin, India’s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. The withdrawal was due to concerns that the reported adverse events could lead to ambiguous or incorrect interpretations regarding the vaccine’s safety.
In the past two decades, faculty members from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have retracted a staggering 58 papers, primarily due to plagiarism and duplication. As India strives towards Viksit Bharat 2047 – the goal of becoming a developed nation – strengthening research integrity, research funding, and innovation ecosystems will be crucial.
However, rising cases of research misconduct, including plagiarism, data fraud, and fake peer review, pose a serious threat to this vision. Research misconduct refers to unethical practices in conducting, reporting, or reviewing research. Such misconduct often leads to retractions. According to Retraction Watch, a global database, common reasons for retraction include fraud and misconduct, ethical violations, errors and mistakes, publication issues, and legal and policy violations. These unethical practices not only damage the credibility of Indian institutions but also erode trust in research, affecting international collaborations and funding opportunities.
Addressing these challenges requires urgent reforms in research evaluation, stronger institutional oversight, and a shift towards quality-driven academic assessments.
Research, Rising Retractions
India’s research output has increased rapidly over the past decade, with hundreds of thousands of papers published annually in reputed journals. The National Science Foundation's 2022 report ranks India as the third-largest producer of science and engineering articles, after China and the United States. According to the scientific abstract and citation database Scopus, India has produced 3.67 million papers since 1867, of which 3,446 (0.09%) are retracted.
While the growth of research is promising, the rising number of retractions is concerning. A study by this author shows that primary causes of retractions are plagiarism, data fraud, and fake peer review. Retractions due to these increased by 6.3% from 1991-2000 to 2001-2010. The upward trend has continued, with retractions rising by 32% from 2001-2010 to 2011-2020.
Quantity Over Quality
When a scientist’s survival is determined by impact factors, ethics becomes the privilege of a few who can afford to be ethical, said a scientist at the University of Pune, quoted in an article on research misconduct in India. Impact factor refers to the average number of citations to recent articles published in a journal, indicating the journal’s influence. Publishing in high-impact factor journals translates into appointments, promotions, institution rankings, and research grants.
And here lies the root of the problem – evaluating scientific success by over-relying on impact factors, publication counts, and rankings among organizations. This creates immense pressure, pushing researchers toward unethical practices.
There are comprehensive guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and mandatory research ethics courses for students before they start PhD programs. However, whether these practices are genuinely embraced or treated as formalities remains a subject of debate.
One of the primary reasons for the rising pressure on academics is the “publish or perish” culture, where academic promotions and funding are heavily tied to publication volume rather than research quality. This intense pressure pushes some researchers toward unethical shortcuts, including plagiarism, fake peer review, and data fabrication.
This author’s study revealed that fake peer review is the leading cause of retractions in India, accounting for 33% of total cases, followed by data fraud (17.2%) and plagiarism (14.8%). Among higher education institutions/universities, private institutions contributed to 60% of retractions, while public institutions accounted for 33.7%, and medical institutions made up 6.7%.
Enforcing Research Integrity
Without urgent and necessary changes in research evaluation and academic incentives, addressing research misconduct will remain a significant challenge. The presence of legally enforceable misconduct policies and a strong academic culture where research undergoes rigorous scrutiny from peers, mentors, and society, can serve as deterrents for such misconduct.
Countries that offer cash rewards for publications may appear to encourage researchers, but they face a higher risk of misconduct. This suggests that such incentives might encourage negligence or unethical practices within the research community.
Addressing research misconduct requires a multifaceted approach that respects the autonomy of researchers while establishing clear boundaries against unethical practices. In India, given the diverse research ecosystems and financial structures across institutions, implementing a uniform national solution is challenging.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently discontinued the UGC-CARE (Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics) system of listing quality journals. The idea is to move towards a decentralized approach – empowering individual institutions to set their own criteria for journal selection, fostering academic freedom, and encouraging more rigorous and context-specific evaluations.
The reasons cited for the discontinuation include a number of poor quality journals and pay-and-publish or predatory journals which had found their way into the list, while several Indian language journals were left out. The new system allows for a broader range of journals – based on certain parameters – for the faculty to publish in.
Indian institutions need to develop and enforce comprehensive research integrity policies, including mandatory training in research ethics. Establishing dedicated committees to oversee research conduct can also ensure adherence to ethical standards. Promoting open peer review processes and encouraging researchers to share data and methodologies can enhance transparency and accountability in research. Such practices deter misconduct by subjecting research to broader scrutiny.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is research misconduct?
Research misconduct refers to unethical practices in conducting, reporting, or reviewing research. This includes plagiarism, data fraud, and fake peer review.
Why is research misconduct a concern in Indian academia?
Research misconduct, such as data manipulation and plagiarism, damages the credibility of Indian institutions, erodes trust in research, and affects international collaborations and funding opportunities.
What are the primary causes of retractions in Indian research papers?
The primary causes of retractions in Indian research papers are fake peer review (33%), data fraud (17.2%), and plagiarism (14.8%).
How does the 'publish or perish' culture contribute to research misconduct?
The 'publish or perish' culture creates immense pressure on academics to publish a high volume of papers, often leading to unethical practices such as plagiarism and data manipulation to meet these demands.
What steps are being taken to address research misconduct in India?
Steps include developing comprehensive research integrity policies, mandatory training in research ethics, and establishing dedicated committees to oversee research conduct. Promoting open peer review processes and encouraging data sharing also enhance transparency and accountability.
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