AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN UTTAR PRADESH TO THE SHODHGANGA REPOSITORY

सार

This study investigates the contribution of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Uttar Pradesh to the Shodhganga repository, India’s national digital platform for hosting electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). Despite the growing emphasis on open access and digital archiving, participation in Shodhganga remains uneven across the state. As of 15 March 2023, only 60 out of 92 HEIs in Uttar Pradesh were found to be contributing to Shodhganga, revealing a notable participation gap. While most of the state public and central universities have been consistently submitting ETDs, many Institutes of National Importance and few state public and private universities have either delayed participation or have yet to sign the required Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with INFLIBNET. Using data retrieved from the AISHE portal and the Shodhganga website, this exploratory study analyzes institutional contributions based on type, district location, volume, and frequency of submissions. The results show that State Public Universities dominate the ETD contributions, followed by Central Universities, while private and deemed universities exhibit significantly lower participation. A time-gap analysis further reveals that although a majority of HEIs have submitted theses recently, a few institutions show extended periods of inactivity ranging from several months to over two years. The study underscores that INFLIBNET must engage more HEIs in the state through proactive outreach, while UGC and university authorities should strengthen policy measures and mandate timely ETD deposits. This study highlights both the achievements and shortfalls in Uttar Pradesh’s engagement with Shodhganga and calls for more structured efforts to ensure inclusive and consistent participation.