Online library of theses written in India in the works

Jawaharlal Nehru University and Banaras Hindu University have just begun moving on to the online platform as have Mangalore University,Panjab University,Manipur University and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. In all,of the 64 universities that have signed up,56 have already begun sharing their research work.

Thesis writing in Indian universities is plagued by plagiarism and blatant cut-and-paste jobs,with cases known of dissertations being on sale at neighbourhood stores.

UGC regulations now make it obligatory for universities to create soft copies of all Ph.D and M.Phil dissertations. Once these are on Shodhganga,it will help other researchers choose their thesis areas in such a way as to avoid duplication of efforts and resources even as it allows them to review related literature online, said Prof Ved Prakash,Chairman UGC.

Recently another platform,called Shodhgangotri,was set up to house even the synopsis submitted by a student for his proposed thesis online. Apart from allowing registration of a potential thesis in advance,it also ensures that one supervisor does not guide too many students at one time.

This reservoir of Indian Intellectual output is open to all and topics can be searched subject/theme wise,university or department wise and using the name of the researcher concerned. An anti-plagiarism software being installed across university networks with UGC funding ensures that all the theses being uploaded on Shodhganga are authentic.