The latest set of UGC regulations pertaining to plagiarism are an example of the government’s intent to control research fraud.

Slowly, however, the government is taking steps to address research fraud. Offenders usually get away with small and big crimes and this has encouraged others to follow the same path. As a result, existing regulations and investigative and punitive mechanisms have not deterred fraudulent activities. Until recently, the UGC as well as the universities have been rather casual with matters of research fraud. Still, academic fraud of one kind or another takes place everywhere. In many countries and certainly at the better universities across the world, there are regulations and strong mechanisms in place to detect and punish offenders. Other lesser known, though common, offences include the practice of adding an author’s name to a paper when she has not contributed to the research, not acknowledging conflicts of interest and general sloppiness in conducting research. Plagiarism is, along with publishing in fake journals and fabrication and falsification of research, among the major offences committed by academics worldwide. These regulations are dedicated to addressing plagiarism by students, researchers and faculty at India’s universities and colleges. The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently approved the UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2018.

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