Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Savitri Thakur on Monday said that empowering women researchers and strengthening ethics in academia are key to building an inclusive knowledge economy, as she inaugurated the third edition of the India Research Tour 2025 at Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) in New Delhi.
Organised by Springer Nature in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the nationwide outreach will span 29 institutions across 15 cities and seven States, focusing on advancing integrity, inclusivity and innovation in India’s research landscape. The initiative which began in 2023 has engaged thousands of researchers and academicians, emerging as a nationwide platform to promote ethical practices, open access and inclusivity in scholarship.
Over the past two years, Springer Nature has visited 36 institutions across 25 cities in 15 States and recognised more than 200 women researchers for their contributions to multidisciplinary research. Frank Vrancken Peeters, CEO of Springer Nature, described the initiative as part of the publisher’s long-term commitment to India’s research ecosystem. “The tour reflects our vision of building bridges between global best practices and local talent, fostering collaboration and accelerating India’s leadership in global science and scholarship,” he noted.
Professor Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary of ICSSR, underlined the outreach programme’s importance in connecting social science researchers across the country. He highlighted that a special focus on Eastern and North-Eastern institutions would help build capacity and strengthen evidence-based policymaking. Key themes of the 2025 tour include open access, the Government’s One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) initiative, research integrity and the role of artificial intelligence in publishing.
The tour will also highlight diversity through campaigns such as ‘Her Research, Our Future’, while aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by promoting accessible and inclusive knowledge.This year’s tour will include leading institutions such as IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Bodh Gaya and Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi. By bringing together researchers, policymakers and institutions across the country, the India Research Tour 2025 seeks to foster a stronger and more collaborative research culture, one that reinforces India’s position as a rising hub of global knowledge.
