Thursday, December 18, 2008
Chennai: Anna University (Chennai) has outdone the Indian Institutes of Technology and other institutions in terms of "fastest growth" in the number of science and technology-related (S&T) research papers published in journals.

The university had published 311 S&T research papers during the final study period of 2001-02, a huge leap from just 63 papers published during 1993-94, the previous study period. In the first study period (1985-86), it had published only 37 papers.


Data related to research papers published during these three study periods, with an eight year interval between each, was taken as the basis to undertake a Scientometric Analysis of S&T Publications Output by India during 1985-2002' by the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies earlier this year.

The analysis, undertaken by professors BM Gupta and SM Dhawan, rates Anna University on top in terms of activity index and says its productivity growth "was fastest followed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad". The report also mentions that in contrast "institutions like IIT-Delhi, IIT-Madras, Panjab University and Banaras Hindu University showed decline in their activity index during the corresponding period".

"This report was approved by the Department of Science and Technology and union science and technology minister Kapil Sibal this month. We are ahead of the IITs now in the activity index," professor P Mannar Jawahar, vice-chancellor, Anna University (Chennai), said on Wednesday. The university is now among the 35 high-productivity S&T institutions in the country, whose contributions figure significantly in such publications during the last 10 years.

The activity index of Anna University during 2001-02 was 1.84, whereas IIT-Madras recorded just 0.91, a fall from the 1.05 it had registered during the previous study period of 1995-96.

"This year, the DST has also sanctioned a grant of Rs 9 crore, which will be disbursed in three equal annual installments for strengthening of research infrastructure, equipment and funding scholars," he added.

However, Anna University is on top only in terms of numerical growth in the number of papers published and not in terms of impact assessment. The university does not figure among the top 10 institutions which published research papers with a higher impact. "The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research tops the impact index," the report said.