Spotlight on Bengaluru: Hosting the 3rd Global Summit on Diamond Open Access

As the world grapples with equitable access to knowledge, Bengaluru emerges as a pivotal hub for transformative discussions in scholarly publishing. From February 2 to 6, 2026, the 3rd Global Summit on Diamond Open Access brings together researchers, policymakers, librarians, and publishers at the Taj Yeshwantpur and the University of Agricultural Sciences. This event, hosted in India for the first time, underscores the nation's robust publicly funded research ecosystem, which produces thousands of journals without imposing fees on authors or readers.

The summit's theme, 'Collaboration for Equitable Digital Infrastructures and Knowledge Commons in Agriculture and Broader Scientific Research Systems,' highlights the urgent need for sustainable models that prioritize public good over profit. With participants from over 70 countries anticipated, drawing from the 1,100 attendees at the previous Cape Town summit, conversations are centering on breaking down funding barriers that exclude talented scholars, particularly from the Global South.

India's role is especially resonant. Home to one of the largest publicly funded research systems globally, the country exemplifies Diamond Open Access (OA) through initiatives like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) publications. Yet, as commercial publishing giants dominate with high Article Processing Charges (APCs), events like this summit signal a shift toward community-led alternatives.

Understanding Diamond Open Access: A Barrier-Free Model for Scholarly Publishing

Diamond Open Access, often abbreviated as Diamond OA, represents a scholarly publication model where research outputs—such as journal articles, monographs, and datasets—are made immediately available online at no cost to either readers or authors. Unlike Gold OA, which requires authors to pay APCs that can exceed $3,000 per article, or Green OA involving self-archiving with embargoes, Diamond OA eliminates financial hurdles entirely. Publishing costs are covered through institutional subsidies, government grants, scholarly societies, or library consortia, ensuring knowledge flows freely as a public good.

This model thrives on community governance, where academic institutions, non-profits, and researchers maintain editorial control. Globally, estimates suggest 17,000 to 29,000 journals operate under Diamond OA, accounting for a significant portion of open access titles indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). In regions like Latin America (25% of Diamond journals) and Europe (45%), it fosters bibliodiversity—supporting multilingual and multidisciplinary content that commercial models often overlook.

For early career researchers (ECRs) and those in under-resourced institutions, Diamond OA levels the playing field. It integrates open licensing (e.g., Creative Commons BY), persistent identifiers like DOIs, and interoperable metadata standards, enhancing discoverability without profit motives.

The Journey of Global Diamond OA Summits: From Mexico to Bengaluru

The Bengaluru summit builds on a growing movement. The inaugural event in Toluca, Mexico (October 2023), focused on equity, quality, usability, and sustainability, uniting stakeholders to define Diamond OA principles. Cape Town, South Africa (December 2024), advanced social justice, emphasizing decolonization, language diversity, and inclusivity—drawing over 1,100 participants from 73 countries.

Now in Bengaluru, the agenda intensifies action. Day 1 workshops tackled publishing platforms, metadata standards, repositories, and preprints. Day 2's inaugural plenary featured global commitments, policy convergence, and equity sessions. Ongoing discussions cover sustaining infrastructures, responsible research assessment, and ECR involvement, culminating in the Bengaluru Roadmap—a blueprint for regional and global action plans.

Organizers including the Society for Promotion of Horticulture (SPH), CSIR-NIScPR, ICAR-DKMA, and international partners like cOAlition S, Science Europe, and UNESCO ensure diverse representation across regions and genders.

India's Diamond OA Landscape: Initiatives and Institutional Support

India stands at the forefront with platforms like IndiaJOL (India Journals Online), a Diamond OA hosting service by Open Access India for non-profit scholarly societies. It provides technical support for journal management, DOIs, XML workflows, and global indexing—empowering local ownership and visibility without APCs.

Universities and councils exemplify this: ICAR publishes open access journals via government funding, while institutions like the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and IIT Indore integrate Diamond OA into their digital infrastructures. The One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) scheme, allocating substantial funds through 2027, complements this by providing access to thousands of journals, but advocates push for more Diamond pathways to avoid vendor lock-in.

In agriculture—a summit focus—ICRISAT and University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru (UASB) demonstrate how Diamond OA disseminates crop research to farmers and scientists, bridging lab-to-land gaps.

• Secure hosting without fees for societies
• Ethical peer review and compliance tools
• Integration with global repositories like Zenodo
• Capacity building for digital transitions

Funding Barriers in Academic Publishing: The Global South Challenge

High APCs from commercial publishers create exclusionary walls. In India, where research funding lags behind salaries in wealthier nations, scholars from state universities face dilemmas: pay out-of-pocket or forgo publication. A survey of Indian scholars revealed preferences for fee-free models, yet Gold OA dominance persists due to perceived prestige.

Globally, APCs burden publicly funded research, shifting costs downstream. In the Global South, this exacerbates inequities—Latin America leads with SciELO's Diamond network, but Africa and Asia seek scalable solutions. The summit addresses this via CSR funding pitches, as noted by ICAR's Anuradha Agrawal: untapped potential in diverting health/education CSR to publishing.

Solutions include national mandates (e.g., India's potential offsets), consortia like OPERAS in Europe, and public infrastructure alignment per UNESCO's 2021 Open Science Recommendation.

Photo by Onkarphoto on Unsplash

Key Discussions and Perspectives from Bengaluru Summit Speakers

Lidia Borrell-Damian of Science Europe traced DOA's roadmap: 'From principles in Cape Town to action here.' Tushar Kanti Behera, ICAR-IIHR Director, advocated regional languages: 'Crucial for India's impact.'

Workshops dissected challenges: commercial journals' speed vs. DOA's rigor; multilingualism via AI tools; ECR training. UNESCO and FAO reps emphasized agriculture knowledge commons, aligning with digital public goods.

Explore the official summit site for live streams and resources.

Case Studies: Success Stories in Diamond OA from India and Beyond

IndiaJOL hosts diverse journals, boosting citations for society-led titles. SciELO in Brazil publishes 1,200+ Diamond journals, proving sustainability via public funding. Europe's OPERAS hub supports 33 journals via collectives.

In India, Journal of Wildlife Science adopts Diamond OA for conservation research, enhancing accessibility. ICAR's model processes manuscripts collaboratively, prioritizing quality over velocity.

• Brazil's SciELO: Scaled to 1M+ articles
• Europe's OLH: Library-funded humanities journals
• India's ICAR: Government-backed ag research
• Angola's UOR: Multilingual African content

Challenges Facing Diamond OA Expansion and Proposed Solutions

Scalability hurdles include infrastructure gaps, visibility in metrics like Scopus, and peer review capacity. Solutions from Bengaluru: standardized metadata, preprint integration, and training via INFLIBNET.

Funding diversification—grants, endowments, CSR—pairs with policy advocacy for offsets. Multilingual tools and decolonized assessment (e.g., DORA principles) address biases.

For Indian universities, this means leveraging DST-CPR and INYAS for capacity building, ensuring ECRs thrive in research assistant roles and beyond.

The Bengaluru Roadmap: Charting the Future of Equitable Publishing

Expected by summit close, the Roadmap outlines action plans: national policies, infrastructure consortia, and assessment reforms. It embeds Diamond OA in digital public infrastructure, fostering global south leadership.

Implications for India: strengthened university presses, integrated with university jobs ecosystems, and boosted research output. Globally, it aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

UNESCO's Diamond OA page details aligned frameworks.

Implications for Indian Universities, Researchers, and Careers

For colleges and universities in India, Diamond OA reduces publication stress, allowing focus on innovation. Professors and lecturers benefit from visible outputs, aiding tenure and grants.

Explore opportunities at professor jobs or postdoc positions where open publishing is valued. Career advice on crafting academic CVs emphasizes OA contributions.

This shift promises diverse voices in higher education, from Bengaluru to rural campuses.

Photo by niketan kumar on Unsplash

Looking Ahead: Diamond OA's Role in Global Knowledge Equity

As 2026 unfolds, the Bengaluru momentum could accelerate Diamond OA to 30%+ of journals. For researchers, it means freer collaboration; for institutions, cost savings; for society, informed policies.

Engage via Rate My Professor, seek higher ed jobs, or follow career advice. India's leadership positions AcademicJobs.com as your gateway to this evolving landscape.

Visit IndiaJOL to submit or access journals today.