The University Grant’s Commission (UGC) has set up a Consortium of Academic and Research Ethics (CARE) to compile a fresh official list of academic publications in order to get rid off over 300 “predatory” publishers, Indian Express has reported. These predatory publishers claimed to host ‘international papers’ and charged fees of $30 to $1,800 per piece.

The UGC has constituted a committee to review the current guidelines on the use of journals in PhD approvals and recommend a new system to promote quality in research. The committee will be headed by former director of Indian Institute of Science Padmanabhan Balaram.

The UGC Vice-Chairman Bhushan Patwardhan said that CARE would be operational within the next three months. “Members of CARE will prepare lists of quality journals in their respective disciplines within a defined timeframe. These lists will be critically analysed and curated for quality by a special cell at the entrusted institution using defined criteria,” Patwardhan said.

Patwardhan added that CARE will be established in a Category-A University and will be under the leadership of the UGC Vice-Chairman. It will have representatives of around 20 statutory bodies, which will include All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Council for Educational Training and Research (NCERT) and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).