RSC India Blog

In the month of March 2025, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) hosted a series of impactful Meet the Editors (MTE) events across India. We connected with more than 300 research scholars and faculty members across four leading institutes in India: INST Mohali, IISER Mohali, IISER Kolkata and IISc Bangalore. 

Focused primarily on early-career researchers, the RSC-MTE events were a resounding success, offering invaluable insights into the academic publishing process alongside cutting-edge research presentations. Participants had the unique opportunity to engage directly with Executive Editors, Associate Editors and expert speakers from institutions across India. The sessions covered key aspects of manuscript submission, the peer review process, and strategies for publishing with maximum impact. They also emphasized the importance of networking, collaboration, and understanding the complete life cycle of a manuscript—from submission to publication. 

We were delighted to have the following prominent figures contribute to the success of the MTE events:

Dr. Heather Montgomery: Managing Editor for Nanoscale Horizons and Nanoscale, RSC
Professor Eva Hemmer: Associate Editor, University of Ottawa, Canada
Professor Umesh Waghmare: Associate Editor, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore

Professor Subinoy Rana: Associate Professor, (MRC), Indian Institute of Science (IISc),Bangalore
Dr. Bhagavatula LV Prasad: Director, Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bangalore
Professor Suryasarathi Bose: Department of Materials Engineering,  Indian Instiute of Science (IISc), Bangalore
Professor A. S. Achalkumar: Associate Editor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati
Dr. Tapasi Sen: Associate Professor, Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) Mohali
Dr. Ujjal K. Gautam: Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, (IISER) Mohali
Dr. Tharamani C. N: Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) , Ropar
Professor Sayan Bhattacharyya: Department of Chemical Sciences, & Centre for Advanced Functional Materials, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, (IISER) Kolkata

Dr. Lijina MP: Assistant Editorial Development Manager (India), Royal Society of Chemistry

These speakers and editors shared invaluable advice on navigating the publishing process, writing high-impact manuscripts, understanding peer review, and selecting the right journal for their research. Their discussions and presentations were instrumental in giving researchers a transparent view of the academic publishing landscape.

The scientific sessions sparked thoughtful discussion, covering a wide range of topics in Nanoscience and technology from Lanthanides to quantum geometry of electrons for various applications including miniature thermometers and anomalous hall transistor.

In addition to valuable interactions with invited experts, the MTE events also highlighted the significant contributions of students. From IISc Bangalore, student speakers Savita Chand, Shibu Meher, and Mohit Tanwani presented their research, sharing innovative ideas and findings with their peers. Their presentations were well-received and served as a strong reflection of the depth of research talent emerging across the country.

The poster sessions provided a more interactive platform for researchers to showcase their work, encouraging meaningful dialogue between students and senior scientists. We are pleased to recognize Smarak Islam Chaudhury, Rohit Thakur, Aryan Keshri, and Garima Kaura as the winners of the poster session, at IISC.

Some of the glimpses of the MTEs can be seen here:

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the speakers, organizers, student volunteers, and attendees who made these events a success. Your enthusiasm and dedication helped create a vibrant atmosphere of learning, collaboration, and innovation.

The consistent success of these events underscores the value MTE brings to our engagement efforts and how it brings together diverse expertise to address global challenges. We look forward to the continued support of the scientific community in India and beyond, and to fostering further collaboration and knowledge exchange in the future.

Together, we believe we can build a brighter, more connected future for science, technology, and innovation.

The Royal Society of Chemistry formed in 1980 by merging our predecessor societies now publishes over 55 world-leading journals that span the core chemical sciences and related fields, known for its rigorous, fair peer review, fast publication times and reputed editorial board. As a learned society, we are passionate and committed to advance the chemical science, develop its applications, and disseminate knowledge in the community. The Royal Society of Chemistry maintains a strong global presence through its international offices, partnerships with key societies, publications, and scientific outreach.

We established our office in India in 2010 in Bangalore to foster scientific advancement and strengthen our ties with the researcher community here. India contributes to the second largest submissions to our portfolio of journals and its influence is growing rapidly. However, our connection with India goes back further than that. There have been engagements to promote chemical sciences in India since 1947 and have held many events since then in various cities over the years. We have five active local sections in India promoting chemical science. Our engagement with the Indian community caters to multiple levels and initiatives. For example, through our Yusuf Hamied Inspirational Science Programme, we have trained over 55000 teachers and 5137 school students across the country. And we have organised several programmes for research collaborations between India and the UK. We also have a strong membership community in India with more than 400 MRSC and 600 fellows.

The remarkable growth in publications by Indian authors in our journals is a clear indicator of the rising prominence of Indian science. In 2009, India was the 12th highest country in terms of papers published. Now India has become the second largest in submissions and publications in RSC journals. This reflects not only the development of Indian research, but also our commitment to engage with Indian scientists. We have been conducting various scientific events across India to motivate and train young researchers to take up chemistry as a career. We provide professional platforms to connect scientists with each other that fosters collaboration and exchange of ideas. RSC Meet the Editors is an impactful program that we have been conducting over the years to provide researchers, especially those in the early stages of their careers, with the opportunity to engage directly with both Indian and international editorial board members and RSC editorial team. In addition, we have major global initiatives for our Indian community such as Chemical Science Leaders in the Field Symposium to highlight cutting-edge chemistry research and giving it the visibility it deserves to drive scientific progress and make a meaningful impact.  Reflecting on last year’s publishing programs we conducted in India; it was an outstanding success and exemplified our commitment to excellence. This includes meet the editors in different portfolios, celebration of ChemComm 60th anniversary and ChemSci symposium series and various conference support and online webinars. We also celebrated various milestones in Indian research last year with dedicated themed collections, including 10^th anniversary of INST Mohali and celebrating the 100th birthday of Professor Sukh Dev.

ChemComm 60th Year Symposium hosted at Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science on 22 November 2024

Chemical Science Leaders in the Field Symposium 2024 hosted at IISER Thiruvananthapuram from 9 to 11 December 2024

Poster session from the RSC Meet the Editors 2025 at Indian Institute of Science

The support from partners such as the Chemical Research Society of India and academic institutions inspires us to deliver programmes that not only serve India but also position Indian science in a global context. We are excited about the plans we aim to pursue in the coming months and years ahead. We are here to keep you informed and inspired; share upcoming programs, events, and activities that connect, support and celebrate our vibrant scientific community. The India publishing team is led by Dr Aparna Ganguly, Editorial Development Manager – India, with support from Assistant Editorial Development Managers, Dr Lijina MP and Dr Aayushi Arora and also supported by Editorial Assistant Anuradha Singh. Together we manage diverse activities and collaborations to support the author community and editorial development to drive visibility of RSC’s key journals within the chemical science community in India.

We are excited to welcome you to the official blog of RSC India publishing. This blog is to bring you closer to our work, values and vision.

Stay tuned for the next post!