How much research output from India gets social media attention?

Abstract

Scholarly articles are now increasingly being mentioned and discussed in social media platforms, sometime seven as pre- or post-print version uploads. Measures of social media mentions and coverage are now emerging as an alternative indicator of impact of scholarly articles. This article aims to explore how much scholarly research output from India is covered in different social media platforms and how similar or different it is from the world average. It also analyses the disciplinewise variations in coverage and altmetric attention for Indian research output, including a comparison with the world average. Results obtained show interesting patterns. Only 28.5% of the total research output from India is covered in social media platforms, which is about 18% less than the world average. ResearchGate and Mendeley are the most popular social media platforms in India for scholarly article coverage. In terms of discipline-wise variation, medical sciences and biological sciences have relatively higher coverage across different platforms compared to disciplines like information science and engineering.

Read the full text paper at:
https://www.currentscience.ac.in/php/forthcoming/pdf/GA34374.pdf (Accessed on August 23, 2019) 

Digital Health Technology can revolutionise healthcare in India: Report

· Around 76% of healthcare professionals in the country already use digital health records in their practice: Future Health Index 2019

· India meets the 15-country average when it comes to the usage of artificial intelligence within healthcare at 46%

New Delhi: India is leading in the adoption of digital health technology with 76% of healthcare professionals in the country already using digital health records (DHRs) in their practice, according to a 15-country Future Health Index (FHI) 2019 report by Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology.

Interestingly, India meets the 15-country average when it comes to the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) within healthcare at 46%.

Commenting on the launch, Rohit Sathe, President – Philips Healthcare, Indian Subcontinent said, "Philips’ Future Health Index 2019 report confirms that digital health technology is a pivotal pillar in delivering value-based care across the healthcare continuum in India. Tools including telehealth and adaptive intelligence solutions can help lower the barriers between hospitals and patients, thereby improving access to care and enhancing overall patient satisfaction, particularity in tier II & III cities in India. We hope that the insights from this report will assist key stakeholders in designing and implementing robust and sustainable health systems in the country."

According to the findings, 80% of healthcare professionals in India have shared patient information with other professionals inside their health facility, which is equal to the number of healthcare professionals who share patient information electronically across the 15-country average

Individuals in India are likely not worried that AI will substitute the human aspects of their healthcare experience, as only one in five (19%) associate AI with less human interaction compared to one-in-three (31%) individuals living within the 15-country average.

The study found that when Indian healthcare professionals are supported by digital technology, their experience improves. For instance, a majority of Indian healthcare professionals who use DHRs in their practice report that DHRs have a positive impact on quality of care (90%), healthcare professional satisfaction (89%), and patient outcomes (70%) when compared to the 15-country average of 69%, 64% and 59% respectively. 64% of Indian healthcare professionals agree that patients having access to their own health data (including test results, prescriptions, scans etc.) has positively impacted their patients’ experience.

The report also found that about two-thirds (67%) of Indians feel comfortable or neutral about seeking medical advice from their doctor through a health application on their phone, suggesting a high willingness and openness to further adopt telehealth and unlock its benefits.

About half (49%) of Indians say they know nothing at all about the benefits of digital health technology or mobile health apps in healthcare. Providing education and information around the benefits of these technologies will be key in taking Indians along this technological healthcare journey.

The report reflects independent research, commissioned by Philips in 15 countries, in which India was included.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/ (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

Patent filings rise as Indian IT cos look to raise their game

Patent filings rise as Indian IT cos look to raise their game

Read more at:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70780094.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

UGC targets 30% enrollment in higher education by 2020 from present’s 25.4%

The number of students enrolled in higher education system has gone up to about 3.66 crore in 2017-18. The GER rose to 25.4 per cent in 2017-18, while the aim is to increase it to 30 per cent by 2020

Read the full article at:

https://indianexpress.com/article/education/ugc-targets-30-enrollment-in-higher-education-by-2020-from-presents-25-4-5926972/ (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

UGC asks nine universities in state to implement EWS quota

UGC asks nine universities in state to implement EWS quota 

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70784181.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

NTA releases UGC NET December 2019, June 2020 schedule

UGC NET 2020 exam date: The application process for the December session will begin from September 9 to October 9. Candidates can apply on the official website — www.nta.ac.in or ntanet.nic.in.

Read the full article at:

https://indianexpress.com/article/jobs/nta-releases-ugc-net-december-2019-june-2020-sessions-schedule-ntanet-nic-in-5926199/ (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

After engineering, no new pharmacy colleges until ’22

After banning new engineering colleges, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has placed a two-year ban on new pharmacy colleges, until 2022. This is because the AICTE as well as the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), a statutory body under the Central government which regulates pharmacy education and practices, believe that many colleges performed poorly at academics and there were not enough jobs for pharmacy graduates to justify the boom in the number of colleges.

The decision to not allow more pharmacy colleges was taken at a meeting held in Delhi on Wednesday, barely a month after the PCI proposed a five-year freeze on colleges offering diploma and degree courses. In January this year, the AICTE decided to not permit new engineering colleges from the academic year 2020-21.

According to AICTE, the intake capacity of pharmacy institutes across India has gone up by 49.5% in the last three years, and this year alone, the capacity increased by 28.1%. From 1,809 diploma and graduate pharmacy institutes that existed in the country 2017-18, the number grew to 3,276 in 2019-20.

“Just like the engineering sector witnessed a sudden expansion a few years ago, the pharmacy sector seems to be witnessing a similar trend for the past three years. However, the passing percentage, as well as the number of students finding jobs after graduation, has not looked good,” said Anil D Sahasrabudhe, chairman, AICTE. He added that the council will first focus on bringing quality into the existing institutes and improving existing facilities before allowing new colleges.

For the current academic year, AICTE had received around 900 applications for starting new pharmacy colleges, of which 565 applications are from Uttar Pradesh (UP). The second-highest number of applications came from Maharashtra, which had around 480 pharmacy institutes offering diploma, undergraduate and post-graduate courses in 2018-19. For the current academic year, 81 new institutes have been approved to start admissions.

While pharmacy institutes are confident about attracting more students to their colleges, experts are concerned over the rate at which these institutes are cropping up. “These colleges, especially the ones in rural parts, are witnessing growing seat vacancies year after year. The situation is worrisome because jobs in the sector are not growing at the same rate as the colleges and very soon, these institutes might face a situation like engineering colleges did a few years ago,” said another official from AICTE.

Source: Hindustan Times (Mumbai) dated August 23, 2019