41 years of Indian Journal of Urology: Reflections for 2025

The Indian Journal of Urology (IJU) came into being in January 1985. Having completed 41 years of regular periodicity, the journal has achieved numerous milestones and undergone significant changes.[1,2] Now, as the new year begins and 2025 comes to a close, it is time to reflect on the past year. First, I welcome aboard two new Associate Editors, Pankaj Maheshwari and Swarnendu Mandal. Both Pankaj and Swarnendu have been Editorial Board members and have made significant contributions as reviewers. In addition, both have been adjudged the best reviewer for the Journal: Pankaj for 2022 and 2024 and Swarnendu for 2021. They replace Sanjay Sinha and Arvind Ganpule, who contributed significantly during their 4-year tenures as Associate Editors. Furthermore, many new faces will join the Editorial Board as members, bringing newer perspectives and energy. While I do not have the December data at the time of writing this article, as of November 30, 2025, the journal has received 579 manuscripts, surpassing the 508 manuscripts received in 2024. These data reflect the continued growth of the Journal, and I acknowledge and thank the authors for their faith in the journal. Reflecting its international appeal, out of 579 manuscripts, the journal received 36 from Indonesia, 23 from Turkey, 14 from China, 13 each from the United States of America and Iran, and smaller numbers from many other countries. However, the bulk, comprising 377 manuscripts, came from India. Till November, the number of original articles received was 263, whereas 54 review articles were submitted. The number of case reports submitted was 179. This 11-month data far exceeds the 12-month data of 2024, when the number of Original Articles submitted was 209, and 176 were case reports. The number of case reports published in the IJU is fixed at 2 per issue (a total of 8 Case Reports in 1 year). Given the large number of case reports being submitted, there was a discussion in the IJU governing body and the Urological Society of India regarding the launch of a new sister journal exclusively for case reports. Being open access with no article processing fee, the IJU provides a unique opportunity for authors to disseminate their research. While citations are considered the standard criteria for judging a journal, many other metrics, such as views, downloads, and engagement, are equally relevant. Table 1 shows some top articles, published in 2025, based on full-text views.[3-8]Table 1: Top 6 articles published in 2025 in the Indian Journal of Urology based on the number of full-text viewsReflecting the evolution of subspecialties in urology, this year, the IJU Editorial Committee was divided into 8 subspecialties. This formalized a practice that was already being followed. The new members have been selected on the lines of subspecialities, ensuring a balanced Editorial Committee. This year, we modified the journal’s logo to bring more clarity [Figure 1].Figure 1: (a) Previous logo, (b) New logo with better clarityThe use of artificial intelligence (AI) has permeated all aspects of medical research and medical writing. As this development is relatively new, the guidelines for its use in medical writing are still evolving. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has given guidelines regarding its use and disclosures.[9] This year, the IJU has adopted these guidelines, and it is now mandatory for the authors to disclose their use in the manuscript. In compliance with ICMJE guidelines, the IJU also prohibits the use of AI in altering images, videos, and listing AI as an author. Each year, the journal continues to evolve. If the number of manuscripts continues to increase, we hope to increase the number of articles published in each issue. Furthermore, we continue to maintain a global perspective while fostering regional research. As we grow, we remain committed to “our endeavors to uphold scientific ethics, quality, and consistency.”[1] Financial support and sponsorship: Nil. Conflicts of interest: There are no conflicts of interest.