Mathematics research in India: A scientometrics and complex network analysis

Abstract

Over the past three decades, there has been a noticeable growth in both the quantity and quality of scientific research in India. In recent years, India’s growing prominence on the global map of research productivity has become highly visible. Numerous scientometrics studies have been reported for various fields in India such as computer science, nanoscience, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, solar cells, and dentistry among others. However, there is a lack of scientometric research in the domain of mathematics within India, despite its crucial role in propelling advancements across various disciplines. Furthermore, research collaboration has emerged as an important factor in accelerating the progress of mathematics research in a country since the 20th century. Therefore, studying collaboration trends becomes an essential component of scientometrics. In this paper, we comprehensively analyze the state of mathematics research in India, including collaboration trends, using methods from scientometrics and complex network analysis. Scientometrics offers an overview of the nature of mathematics research being undertaken, while complex network analysis reveals the dynamics and structural variation of research collaborations at the country and institutional level across various temporal periods. The findings provide insights into the development and collaboration trends of mathematics research in India from 2001 to 2021. There has been an exponential increase in publications since 2015, with approximately 20% of mathematics research conducted in India appearing to be associated with physics research. In terms of research collaborations, there has been a notable increase in collaborations between India and several countries including the USA, China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. However, an analysis of institutional collaboration networks suggests that these collaborations tend to be small-scale research.