In News:

The Delhi High Court has ordered a ban on Sci-Hub and its mirror websites after global publishing houses filed a copyright infringement case. This decision has reignited the debate on access to academic literature in India and highlighted the relevance of the government’s One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) initiative

About Sci-Hub

• Founded: 2011 by Alexandra Elbakyan.
• Nature: A free digital repository providing millions of research articles.
• Function: Circumvents paywalls of academic journals, allowing unrestricted access without subscriptions.
• Popularity: Widely used by students, independent researchers, and scholars, particularly in developing nations.

The Sci-Hub Case

• Litigation: Publishing giants Elsevier, Wiley, and the American Chemical Society (ACS) filed a copyright case against Sci-Hub.
• Court Ruling: The Delhi High Court found Alexandra Elbakyan guilty of contempt for violating earlier commitments.
• Directive: Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were instructed to block Sci-Hub and related mirror portals.
• Implication: While the ruling reinforced intellectual property rights, it left unanswered the critical issue of affordable access to scholarly resources in India.

One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) Scheme

• Launch: 2024.
• Funding: ?6,000 crore allocated for the first phase (2023–26).
• Approach: Centralized negotiations with 30 publishing houses to provide access to nearly 13,000 journals.
• Coverage:
  • Phase I: Public universities and research institutions.
  • Phase II: Private colleges and institutes.
• Objective: To provide equitable, legal, and affordable access to global research material, reducing dependence on piracy platforms like Sci-Hub.