India is world’s 4th in research output, but ranks 9th in citations

MUMBAI: India is one of the fastest growing research hubs in the world. But not all of that research matters. And that may be a matter of concern, according to the QS which took a deep look at what is being published, by who and how much.
Between 2017 and 2022 India’s research output grew by about 54%, according to research insights database SciVal. This is more than double the global average and far greater than that of its more academically established western counterparts. The global average for research growth is at 22% between 2017 and 2022.
India's research output was the fourth highest worldwide (1.3 million academic papers between 2017 and 2022), behind world leader China (4.5 million), the United States (4.4 million) and the United Kingdom (1.4 million). At its current growth rate, India is poised to surpass the United Kingdom for research volume in the near future.

In all, India produced 1.3 million academic papers in the 2017-2022 period, generating 8.9 million citations. But look closer and there is another reality at play. “When it comes to impact of the research produced, in citation count, India falls behind, placing ninth in the world for citations generated between 2017 and 2022, indicating that effort and funding would be best directed towards high-quality, relevant research and ensuring this research is disseminated among the scholarly community,” said QS research director Ben Sowter.
China, on the other hand, has scientific output that is more than triple India’s size and generates five times as many citations. India’s most prolific field of research is engineering and technology (52.6% of total research output), in which its primary focus is evenly split between petroleum engineering and computer sciences, followed by an almost equal proportion of research in natural sciences (36%) and life sciences and medicine (35%).
India produces 19% of its research output along with international collaborators, which is in keeping with the global average of 21% and aligned with that of its closest competitors. India’s 11 public and private Institutes of Eminence have produced more than 1,50,000 academic papers, generated 1.4 million citations and recorded an average research growth rate of 35% since 2017. The Institutes of Eminence maintain a growth rate 13% higher than the global average.