CSIR-Funded Research in India: Insights from Bibliometric and Altmetric Analysis

Abstract

The yearly average relative growth rate of CSIR-funded research during the last decade stands at 0.28, indicating a stable and gradual increase in research output. On the other hand, the citations of these publications have received an annual average of 1.35 lakh citations, with a 0.18 yearly average relative growth rate. To better understand the citation trends, citation data were divided into two five-year block periods: 2014-2018 and 2019-2023. During the first block period, the mean relative growth rate for citations was 0.34, while it decreased to 0.06 during the second. This trend highlights the most important factor, i.e., ‘Time’ associated with citation accumulation. The social engagement of CSIR-funded research was considerably high across platforms. X (formerly Twitter) emerged as the leading platform, accounting for 1.43 lakh mentions, followed by News mentions (9290), Patent mentions (4154), and 4019 Facebook interactions. Further, over 11 lakh Mendeley reads indicated substantial scholarly influence of the CSIR-funded research. As CSIR conducts cutting-edge research, leveraging Altmetrics is an effective way to reach a broader audience and enhance visibility. Only 24% of research funded by CSIR is published on open-access platforms, receiving an average of 22.46 citations per paper. There is an urgent need for stricter implementation of the open-access mandate to include all CSIR-funded research, regardless of author affiliation, to enhance its visibility and impact. Chemistry dominates in CSIR-funded research, comprising 43% of total publications. However, there is a need to adopt refined criteria for funding allocation to ensure a more balanced distribution across diverse scientific disciplines