Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur on Monday flagged off the India Research Tour 2025 at the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) in New Delhi.
Organised by Springer Nature in collaboration with the Education Ministry, the India Research Tour is among the country’s most ambitious outreach initiatives promoting integrity, inclusivity, and innovation in research. Now in its third edition, the tour will travel across 29 institutions in 15 cities and seven states, focusing on Open Access, research integrity, diversity and inclusion, and ethical scholarship.
Addressing the gathering, Minister Thakur reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to empowering women and children through knowledge, research, and innovation. She said the India Research Tour serves as a vital platform for connecting with researchers nationwide, supporting women in research, strengthening ethics in scholarship, and ensuring equitable access to opportunities and resources.
“Empowering women researchers and scholars is central to building an inclusive knowledge economy. By promoting ethical research practices and democratising access to knowledge, this initiative contributes directly to the vision of Viksit Bharat,” she said.
The Minister also emphasised the Ministry’s focus on creating safe, supportive, and opportunity-rich environments for women scholars in universities and research institutions. She commended Springer Nature and ICSSR for integrating discussions on gender equality in research, ethical publication practices, and the ‘Her Research, Our Future’ initiative – all of which align with the Ministry’s mission to mainstream women’s voices in academia and policymaking.
This year’s India Research Tour will include visits to leading institutions such as IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati, Maulana Azad Medical College (New Delhi), IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, and IIM Bodh Gaya.
The key focus areas of India Research Tour 2025 include promoting Open Access (OA) and raising awareness about One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS); advancing research integrity and exploring the role of artificial intelligence in publishing; promoting diversity and inclusion through initiatives such as Her Research, Our Future; and supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by democratising access to knowledge.
Also present at the event were Frank Vrancken Peeters, CEO of Springer Nature; Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi, Managing Director, Springer Nature India; and Prof. Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary, ICSSR.