Scientometric Mapping of Pharmaceutical Science Research in India during 2011-2020

Abstract

This study delineates India's pharmaceutical sciences research landscape from 2011 to 2020 through a scientometric analysis of data from the Scopus database. During this period, India contributed 241,142 publications, constituting 6.90% of the global total of 3,493,821 in the field. The analysis revealed significant variations across different dimensions, including year, country, subject area, funding agency, and leading organizations. Key metrics such as annual growth rate, relative growth rate, doubling time, publication efficiency index, citations per publication, research quality index, research priority index, and h-index were employed to assess overall development, research focus, and quality. The production of research output exhibited a steady year-on-year increase, reaching its zenith in 2016, with pharmacology leading at 115,558 publications. The Activity Index reveals increased research activity in India from 2011 to 2016 and in 2020, alongside a significant rise in citations for publications from 2019 and 2020. The quality of Indian contributions from 2011-2014 and 2019-2020 exceeds the global average, with research quality index values range from 1.00 to 1.09. Together, the top ten sponsors have funded 69686 publications, and out of them, 18.80% of publications were funded by the Department of Science and Technology, underscoring government support for scientific research. India's contribution of 6.90% to global pharmaceutical publications is unexpectedly low, given its pivotal role in drug production. This disparity underscores the necessity for improved research capabilities and collaboration. The academic institutions dominate the top contributors, with CSIR as a notable exception. While India's research efficiency has been robust from 2011 to 2016, subsequent years' troubling descent signals an urgent need to address these challenges to revitalise India's position in the global research framework by creating a conducive environment for groundbreaking research. This can be achieved through the strengthening of research infrastructure and providing access to cutting-edge technologies for researchers, thereby ensuring sustained innovation and global competitiveness.