UGC’s Contribution to Academic Libraries and Information Services in India

Walk into any well-run university library in India and you will find rows of journals, digital terminals connecting students to thousands of e-resources, and a quiet machinery of funding and policy working behind the scenes. Much of that machinery traces back to a single statutory body that has shaped higher education for nearly seven decades: the University Grants Commission. While the UGC is best known for regulating degrees and disbursing grants, its influence on academic libraries and information services is equally profound. From funding bookshelves in small colleges to building one of the largest scholarly networks in the country, the UGC has steadily transformed how students and researchers access knowledge.

The establishment and role of the UGC 🔗

The University Grants Commission was formally established in November 1956 as a statutory body through an Act of Parliament. Its mandate was clear: the coordination, determination, and maintenance of standards of university education. The idea, however, predated independence. A 1944 report on post-war educational development recommended a committee to oversee the central universities of Aligarh, Banaras, and Delhi, and the body was first inaugurated in 1953 before gaining statutory status three years later.

The UGC operates under the Ministry of Education and works from New Delhi alongside six regional offices in Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati, and Bangalore. Apart from providing grants to eligible universities and colleges, the Commission advises both central and state governments on measures necessary for developing higher education. This dual responsibility, funding and standard-setting, is what gives the UGC its reach into so many corners of academic life, including libraries.

A library is rarely the first thing people associate with a regulatory commission. Yet the UGC recognised early that quality teaching and research cannot exist without quality information services. A degree only carries weight if the institution behind it offers genuine access to books, journals, and research material. This thinking placed libraries firmly within the UGC’s developmental agenda.

Why libraries became a UGC priority 🔗

Under Section 12 of the UGC Act, the Commission is tasked with inquiring into the financial needs of universities and allocating grants for the improvement of university education. Libraries fall squarely within this remit. A poorly stocked library directly limits the quality of teaching and research, so investing in library infrastructure became a logical extension of the UGC’s core duties.

Over successive five-year plans, the UGC began earmarking funds specifically for library development. This was not charity. It reflected a structural understanding that a research-driven nation needs well-resourced information systems at every level, from premier central universities down to district colleges.

Library development schemes and financial support 🔗

The most visible contribution of the UGC to academic libraries comes through its funding schemes. Universities and colleges receive grants under various heads, and a portion of these grants has historically been directed toward strengthening library collections, infrastructure, and services.

Book and journal grants: One of the earliest forms of support involved direct allocations for purchasing books, periodicals, and reference materials. For many colleges with limited budgets, these grants were the difference between a functional library and an empty room.

Infrastructure and modernisation: Beyond books, the UGC has funded the construction and expansion of library buildings, reading halls, and storage facilities. As libraries shifted toward computers and digital catalogues, modernisation grants helped institutions automate their operations and move away from manual card systems.

Support tied to recognition: Funding eligibility is often linked to an institution’s status under Sections 2(f) and 12(B) of the UGC Act. Colleges recognised under these provisions can access central funding, which in turn determines their access to many library and information service schemes. This link between recognition and resources has nudged institutions toward meeting quality benchmarks.

Connecting curriculum and information resources 🔗

The UGC’s role is not limited to writing cheques. Through its curriculum development efforts and model frameworks, the Commission shapes what students are expected to learn, which in turn defines what libraries must stock. When syllabi are revised to include new disciplines or research methods, libraries need matching resources. The UGC’s guidance on academic standards therefore indirectly drives the composition of library collections across the country.

This connection matters for Library and Information Science students in particular. The discipline itself has grown partly because the UGC has treated information services as a measurable component of institutional quality, creating demand for trained librarians and information professionals.

INFLIBNET and the digital transformation of libraries 🔗

If one initiative captures the UGC’s vision for academic information services, it is the Information and Library Network, widely known as INFLIBNET. INFLIBNET is an autonomous Inter-University Centre of the UGC, headquartered in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It was established as a major programme in 1991 and granted independent status in 1996.

The purpose of INFLIBNET is to interlink academic libraries and information centres so that resources can be shared rather than duplicated. Instead of every university struggling alone to build expensive collections, INFLIBNET connects them through a nationwide data network, allowing libraries to pool catalogues, share scholarly content, and access electronic resources collectively.

Key INFLIBNET services and programmes 🔗

Over three decades, INFLIBNET has built an ecosystem of services that directly benefit students and researchers:

Shodhganga: A digital repository of electronic theses and dissertations submitted by research scholars from universities across the country. This open repository preserves Indian scholarly output and makes it freely searchable, reducing duplication of research and improving academic transparency.

e-ShodhSindhu: Formed in December 2015 by merging three earlier consortia, the UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium, N-LIST, and the INDEST-AICTE Consortium, this is one of the largest e-resource consortia. It provides current and archival access to more than 10,000 core and peer-reviewed journals along with bibliographic and factual databases, offered to member institutions at sharply reduced subscription rates.

N-LIST: The National Library and Information Services Infrastructure for Scholarly Content extends e-resource access to colleges. It provides access to thousands of journals and a large collection of e-books to government, government-aided, and non-aided colleges, often the institutions that need it most.

SOUL: The Software for University Libraries is an integrated library management system developed by INFLIBNET to help institutions automate cataloguing, circulation, and administration in a standardised way.

IndCat: An online union catalogue of books, theses, and journals held in major university libraries, allowing users to locate materials across institutions from a single interface.

Why resource sharing changed the game 🔗

Before networks like INFLIBNET, a student in a small college had access only to whatever their own library could afford. A researcher in a tier-two city might never see a particular international journal. By aggregating demand and negotiating collective subscriptions, the UGC through INFLIBNET dramatically reduced the cost of access and widened the reach of scholarly material. This is the practical meaning of equitable access: the location of a college no longer fully determines the quality of information available to its students.

Future strategies for library growth 🔗

The UGC’s library agenda continues to evolve, shaped now by the National Education Policy 2020, which identifies research as essential to quality higher education. Modernisation is no longer just about buying more books; it is about digital infrastructure, open access, and seamless connectivity.

One Nation One Subscription 🔗

The most significant recent development is the One Nation One Subscription scheme. Approved by the Union Cabinet in late 2024 and launched in 2025, it is coordinated by INFLIBNET as the central agency. The scheme provides nationwide access to scholarly journals across more than 6,300 government higher education and research institutions, potentially benefiting around 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers.

The government has allocated roughly ₹6,000 crore for the scheme across 2025, 2026, and 2027, covering subscription charges for all eligible institutions. By bringing top international journals to colleges in tier-two and tier-three cities, the initiative aims to bridge the digital divide and foster interdisciplinary research. It represents a logical next step in the UGC’s long-standing strategy of pooling resources for collective benefit.

Review committees and continuous modernisation 🔗

The UGC has historically relied on expert and review committees to assess library needs and recommend reforms. This pattern continues, with bodies like the Anusandhan National Research Foundation now set to periodically review the usage and impact of national subscription schemes. Such review mechanisms ensure that public funds translate into measurable improvements in access and research output rather than unused subscriptions.

Looking ahead, the direction is clear: greater automation, expanded open-access repositories, better usage analytics, and tighter integration between physical and digital collections. The role of the library is shifting from a storehouse of books to a gateway for knowledge, and the UGC remains central to financing and steering that shift.

What this means for the profession 🔗

For students and aspiring information professionals, these developments signal a growing demand for skills in digital library management, data curation, and consortium administration. The libraries the UGC is helping to build require people who understand both traditional librarianship and modern information technology. The profession is being reshaped by the very initiatives that the Commission has set in motion.

What do you think? If schemes like One Nation One Subscription succeed in giving every college the same access to scholarly journals, how might that change the quality of research coming out of smaller institutions? And as libraries become increasingly digital, what new skills should the next generation of librarians focus on developing?

References

1. https://www.ugc.ac.in/page/genesis.aspx
2. https://www.education.gov.in/university-grants-commission
3. https://www.understandupsc.com/ugc-university-grants-commission-act-1956/
4. https://inflibnet.ac.in/
5. https://testbook.com/question-answer/inflibnet-centre-which-is-an-autonomous-inter-uni–625037e4745a843adf2e769f
6. https://ess.inflibnet.ac.in/about.php
7. https://news.careers360.com/cabinet-approves-one-nation-one-subscription-scheme-for-top-research-journals-nearly-1-8-crore-benefit-university/amp
8. https://www.indiascienceandtechnology.gov.in/listingpage/one-nation-one-subscription-scheme
9. https://news.careers360.com/cabinet-launches-one-nation-one-subscription-for-research-journals-access-over-13000-e-journals/amp