Establishing Higher Norms for Indian Journals Reply to: Craze for Publishing in Foreign Journals: Why not?

Dear Sir, We went through your paper titled “Craze for Publishing in Foreign Journals: Why Not?”[1] By keeping in mind the impact factor making national journals not as good as the ‘international’ journals,[2] we agree with the literature which explains the real difficulties and waiting period regarding Indian journals, but we would like to add our perspective to this as well. In essence, the quality of research that is published in a journal is decided by two main factors: the quality of the submitted manuscript and the quality and rigor of the peer-review process.[3] The quality of the research that is submitted is in the author’s hands, and the editor is in charge of peer review. The primary factor that is mostly going unrecognized is that many of the reputable Indian journals have an effective peer-review procedure. It is frequently noted that several articles being submitted to national journals have already been rejected by several ‘international’ journals or are otherwise of low quality. This is largely because many scientific authors are choosing to publish in foreign journals, which would impede the development of the Indian scientific tradition and maintain India in a position of scientific dependency.[4] Being a junior faculty member, the eagerness to publish in high-impact factor international journals is limited by rejection anxiety, which eventually contributes to a loss of confidence and the desire to publish or rather write more. In contrast, as a result of the ease of communication with the Indian editorial staff, there is a ray of hope to be accepted by the National journals. Fortunately, even if it is accepted by a foreign journal, the publication costs are extremely high. Yes, I agree that there is a waiver option, but again, the process is very drawn out and requires a lot of paperwork, which takes time. Eventually, we become distracted and lose interest in publishing it. Therefore, it is wise to take your time to be accepted in an Indian journal rather than attempting to be accepted in risky international journals. Young, aspiring scientists would undoubtedly start to follow suit if the more experienced scientists change their propensity for publishing excellent manuscripts in Indian journals rather than relying only on international journals with high IF and if, concurrently, the entire selection committee takes action to recognize genuine scientific hard work. As an additional step, the emphasis probably should also be to attract more international papers by foreign authors in Indian journals rather than just concentrating on getting Indian authors to publish in Indian journals. The best Indian authors are likely to follow suit if the Indian journals have more foreign publications. Since publications have become commercial, the publisher would not take the chance of slowing down or ceasing operations thus, one additional step that can be taken from the editor’s side to promote publications in the national journals is making sure transparent peer review and timely publication online and in print. Srinivasan states that raising the calibre, visibility, and impact factor of Indian journals is the communal obligation of the nation’s scientific community. The Indian scientific community should make sure that any evaluation does not need to differentiate between “national” and “international” journals.[2] Data availability statement The data that supports the findings of this study are available within the article. (References) Author contribution Jyoti Ajagunde: Original draft writing; Preethy Edavaloth: Reviewing and editing; Lekshmi R: Conceptualization; Rajashri Patil: Final review. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.