Measuring and Characterizing International Collaboration Patterns in Indian Scientific Research

Scientific collaboration at international level has increased manifolds during last two decades. Collaboration is not only associated with higher research productivity but has also been found to be positively correlated with impact. Considering the benefits and advantages of international collaboration for the national science and technology systems of a country, policymakers in different countries have designed programs to promote international collaboration in science. This paper attempts to measure and characterize the international collaboration patterns in Indian scientific research. Research publication data for the last 20 years (2001-2020), obtained from Web of Science, is analysed for the purpose. Analytical results show that India's international collaboration has grown at a rate of 12.27% during this period, rising from only 20.73% internationally collaborated papers in 2001 to 32.35% internationally collaborated papers in 2020. USA, Germany, England, South Korea and China are found to be the top collaborating partners for India during his period, however, some subject area-wise variations are also seen. Among the internationally collaborated papers, about 50% papers have an Indian researcher as lead (first) author, and more than 50% authors of such internationally collaborated papers are from India. The internationally collaborated papers from India are also found to have a slight advantage in terms of citation impact and social media visibility. The probable factors shaping the Indian international collaboration and the major policy implications are discussed.