This has reference to the editorial on `Citation counting and
impact factors' (Curr. Sci., 1998, 75, 175). The writeup depicts clearly the current scene
of the Indian science and the status of the Indian journals and is very thought-provoking.
It is known fact that many Indian journals do not meet the standard set by SCI. Even those
which secure a berth in the SCI category have their impact factors less than 0.5. The
question is how are we going to improve this pathetic situation? Unless the impact factor
is high, scientists do not wish to publish their work and unless good papers are published
the impact factor is not going to go up. Its a catch 22 situation. Two suggestions were
outlined: (i) to close down Indian journals, and (ii) compelling researchers to publish in
Indian journals. It is also pointed out that `somewhere, in between, probably lies a
reasonable course of action'. It may be a good idea that instead of taking pride in
publishing our work in international journals, probably we can take a solemn oath that we
will publish atleast half of our yearly publications (including good ones!) in Indian
journals. In addition, inviting periodically leading researchers (from India and abroad)
to contribute to a journal would enhance the visibility and creditability of the journal.
Otherwise, carrying out special sections on hot topics, following the lines of Current
Science may be a worthwhile exercise to enhance the impact factor. Unless some drastic
measures are taken, there seems to be `no' light at the end of the tunnel.
N. R. JAGANNATHAN
Department of NMR,
All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
Ansari Nagar,
New Delhi 110<|>029, India