UGC to review quality of PhD Thesis awarded by Indian Universities.

The quality of a university is measured by the quality of its research

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to review the quality of Ph.D. thesis for which doctoral degrees have been awarded in the last decade by Indian universities.

The move comes in the wake of concerns raised by various quarters about the poor quality of research in the country and duplication of subjects on which PhDs are done.

The commission has invited proposals from interested parties to conduct the study over a period of six months.

According to the UGC notification, the scope of the study will involve the Ph.D. thesis awarded in different disciplines by various central universities, state universities, state private universities, and deemed-to-be universities in the last 10 years.

The commission has asked interested individuals or groups to send their proposals while indicating their capabilities, track record, the procedure to be adopted and the estimated budget for conducting the study.

The UGC Notification (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.PHIL./PH.D Degrees Regulations, 2016 ) dated 5^th May 2016,  mandates submission of an electronic copy of the Mphil.Dissertation/Ph.D. Thesis to the INFLIBNET, for hosting the same on the Shodhganga portal, so as to make it accessible to all institutions.

What is Shodhganga?

“Shodhganga” was set up by the INFLIBNET Centre and is a digital repository of Indian Electronic Theses and Dissertations which are made available to the entire scholarly community. Shodhganga is similar to the  ETHOS service in the UK.

However many universities fearing plagiarism have not submitted the thesis despite the mandate. Many universities have also not purchased the anti-plagiarism software.

In the interest of transparency, the Vice-Chancellors in the state and Central Universities should inspire the students by submitting their doctoral thesis to the repository.