Open Access Policy

The Digital Repository for Indian Scholarly Texts & Information (DRISTI) is committed to advancing the global exchange of knowledge through open-access scholarly publishing. DRISTI promotes unrestricted access to high-quality academic publications while maintaining the highest standards of research integrity and scholarly excellence.

DRISTI publishes scholarly books, edited volumes, academic textbooks, research monographs, conference proceedings, policy reports, institutional publications, academic series, technical reports and other scholarly works under an open-access publishing model. Once published, the final version of each publication is made freely and permanently available to readers worldwide without subscription or access barriers.

Open Access Publishing

DRISTI follows the principles of Gold Open Access, ensuring that all published works are immediately, permanently and freely accessible online upon publication.

Readers may read, download, copy, distribute, cite, link to and share published content without charge, subject to the applicable copyright licence and proper attribution to the original author(s).

Through open-access publishing, DRISTI seeks to:

  • Promote unrestricted access to scholarly knowledge.
  • Increase the visibility and impact of research.
  • Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Support equitable access to academic resources.
  • Advance innovation, education and public policy through open scholarship.

Copyright and Author Rights

Authors publishing with DRISTI retain copyright over their work.

Authors grant DRISTI a non-exclusive licence to publish, archive, preserve and disseminate their work through its digital publishing platform.

Unless otherwise specified, publications are released under an appropriate Creative Commons (CC) licence, with CC BY 4.0 (Attribution International) being the preferred licence. Alternative Creative Commons licences may be adopted where required by institutional policies, funding mandates or publication agreements.

Authors are encouraged to share and promote their published work through:

  • Institutional repositories.
  • University repositories.
  • Personal websites.
  • Research networking platforms.
  • Professional profiles.
  • Non-commercial scholarly repositories.

Appropriate acknowledgement of the original publication on DRISTI should always accompany redistributed versions.

Publication Charges and Editorial Independence

DRISTI is committed to ensuring that editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit. Where publication processing charges are applicable, they are determined transparently based on the nature and production requirements of the publication. The ability or inability of an author, institution or funding body to pay publication charges has no influence whatsoever on editorial decisions.

Acceptance or rejection of a manuscript depends exclusively upon:

  • academic quality;
  • originality;
  • research significance;
  • methodological rigour;
  • relevance to the scope of DRISTI;
  • compliance with publication ethics.

Editorial independence is maintained throughout every stage of the publication process.

Review and Publication Process

Every submission undergoes a structured editorial and peer-review process designed to ensure academic quality and research integrity. The publication process generally includes:

  1. Submission of the manuscript or publication proposal.
  2. Initial editorial assessment by the DRISTI Secretariat.
  3. Independent peer review by qualified subject experts.
  4. Communication of reviewer comments to the author(s).
  5. Revision of the manuscript by the author(s).
  6. Re-evaluation of revised submissions where necessary.
  7. Final editorial decision.
  8. Copyediting and proofreading.
  9. Typesetting and metadata preparation.
  10. ISBN and DOI registration, where applicable.
  11. Digital publication on the DRISTI platform.
  12. Abstracting, indexing and long-term digital preservation.

Where reviewers recommend revisions, authors are expected to respond to all comments in a timely and constructive manner. Multiple rounds of revision may be required before a manuscript is accepted for publication. Only manuscripts that satisfy DRISTI's editorial, ethical and scholarly standards proceed to publication.

Long-Term Accessibility

Published works remain permanently accessible through the DRISTI platform and benefit from persistent identifiers, structured metadata and internationally recognised digital preservation practices. The platform supports interoperability with academic repositories, library catalogues and scholarly indexing services, ensuring that publications remain discoverable, accessible and citable for future generations of researchers.

Publish with DRISTI

Whether you are preparing a scholarly book, edited volume, conference proceedings, institutional publication, policy report or academic series, DRISTI provides comprehensive editorial, technical and publishing support from proposal to publication. The DRISTI Secretariat welcomes publication proposals from researchers, universities, research institutions, scholarly societies and academic organisations worldwide and is pleased to assist authors throughout every stage of the scholarly publishing journey.