Identifying the Institutional Shifts in Contribution to Indian Research Output

In the past few decades, India has emerged as a major knowledge producer, with the research output being contributed by a diverse set of institutions. These include centrally funded, state funded and private institutions. However, a significant change has been witnessed in research contributions of the Indian institutional actors during the last two decades. In this rapidly evolving landscape, it is important to explore the extent to which the composition of the list of the top 100 research output producing institutions has changed during the last two decades. This analysis may contribute to a better understanding of the dynamic institutional research ecosystem of the country, particularly in view of the fact that several new institutions have come up during the period, including in the private sector. The Web of Science research publication data during the two 10-year periods (2004-13 and 2014-23) is analysed for the purpose. The institutions which retain their position within the top 100 during both periods are identified, along with the change in their positions. Similarly, institutions that were there in the top 100 list during the first time period (2004-13) and went out of the top 100 list during the second time period (2014-23) are also identified. In the same line, the new entrant institutions in the top 100 list during the second time period (2014-23) are identified too. The results obtained indicate an institutional shift in the contribution to Indian research output, with a greater contribution coming from institutions in the private sector and a general decline of output from several state universities. The analysis thus provides empirical evidence towards the impacts of structural and policy changes in the Indian Institutional system.