A Comparative Study of India's Research Performance in Scientific and Technological Areas of Clean Energy and Water (2006-17): A Scientometric Analysis

India is one of the major countries undertaking research and development in scientific and technological areas of clean energy and water, as reflected in the publications records of bibliographic databases in recent times. The country has also been shifting its focus to become one of the great champions in the clean energy sector, as recognized by the World Economic Forum, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and other international agencies. The R&D landscape in clean energy has also expanded in recent times. While India conceptualized and launched the International Solar Alliance in 2015, the country gained global recognition as a benefactor of clean energy. On the other hand, the country has been strengthening the national missions and programmes in the water and sanitation sector for improving access to clean water to all citizens and to mitigate water-related stresses and groundwater depletion. As the two sectors have major stakes in the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), two particular goals are particularly associated with the water and energy sectors, namely, Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, and Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. Since 2015, a number of national-level research and development initiatives have been formulated to address the SDG targets aiding with science, technology, and innovation.
Some mission mode research initiatives have been initiated by the Indian S&T ministries. For example, DST’s Water Technology Initiative (WTI), Technology Mission on Water, and Technology Mission on Clean Energy have enriched S&T interventions and research funding for research and technology deployment in the said subject domains. Matching research funding from the line ministries and state S&T councils have also been provided to the research projects in different institutions across the country.
The present study analyses the publications and patent data for the period 2006-2017. We obtain the publication data as recorded on the Scopus database. Additionally, data from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scimago Journal Ranking (SJR) have been analysed to enrich our discussion. Such an analysis of publication data would allow us to understand India’s evolving pattern of research performance. Alongside this, we carry out a patent data analysis to understand India’s contribution to technology development. India is collaborating with several leading countries in specific domains of research and technology development. A number of bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation agreements have been signed on clean energy and water technology areas. Our analysis sheds important light on the impact of these collaborations on research and technology development performances of the country. It allows us to examine how such collaborations help to undertake cutting edge research, influencing research impact, and gaining global attention. The study also analyses the Altmetric attention scores of some of the key publications to gauge how research publications are reaching out to the society. Furthermore, we compare open access publications with their restricted access counterparts to evaluate how open access shapes readership and the impact of research.