Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other foreign universities have experienced the retraction of 58 research papers authored by their faculty members over a 17-year period, casting doubts on author integrity. A monitoring agency, Indian Research Watchdog (IRW), discovered that these retractions occurred between 2006 and 2023, citing three primary reasons: plagiarism of the article, plagiarism of text, and duplication of articles. However, it is important to note that these numbers exclude other forms of scientific misconduct, such as data manipulation, forged authorship, and randomly generated content.
Which Foreign Universities are involved?
The IRW compiled this data based on information from The Retraction Watch Database. In comparison, prominent international universities like Stanford University (US), Princeton (US), Oxford (UK), Cambridge (UK), and Tsinghua University (China) have significantly fewer retractions during the same 17-year period.
These retractions emerged from 12 of the 23 IITs, and while the number may seem small relative to the total research output, they are receiving significant attention and corrective measures. Some instances of retractions involve plagiarism and improper credit attribution in biology-related research.
According to TOI reports, the actions taken against the faculty members involved remain unclear. Nevertheless, it is evident that the number of research paper retractions in India has seen a substantial increase, rising from 595 between 2017 and 2019 to 1,350 between 2020 and 2022, citing a total of 109 reasons for retraction.
The lack of transparency regarding the actions taken has raised concerns. These retractions not only damage the scientific reputation of India but also pose a threat to the education and careers of undergraduate and graduate students. IRW founder Achal Agrawal emphasized the importance of awareness and corrective actions to preserve India's scientific potential, as per the reports.
Academic experts stress the need to follow the University Grants Commission's 2018 Academic Integrity Guidelines to address cases of plagiarism and related issues.
