Scopus publication support in Delhi

How many papers does each Delhi institution want before you submit?

Anywhere from none to two, and the journal rules differ just as much. The rows below come from each institution’s current ordinance or form. “Not specified” means the document is silent, not that anything is allowed.

Still applying, and choosing between these places? See how each one admits scholars in PhD admission in Delhi. The rest of this page takes the rules one at a time, starting with the most detailed.

What does a Scopus paper have to look like under DU’s 2026 Ordinance VI?

Clause M.5 of the revised Ordinance VI, notified on 20 August 2026, splits the PhD into two pathways. On the Academic Pathway you need two conference presentations and two research papers before the thesis goes in.

• The papers must come from your PhD work. They go in Scopus-indexed or University of Delhi approved journals, with you as first, second or corresponding author (M.5.1.2.1). We couldn’t find a published list of DU-approved journals. So before you rely on a journal outside Scopus, ask your DRC whether it counts as approved.
• The presentations must be in your PhD area and certified by your RAC. Who runs the conference matters. It has to be a UGC-recognised university, an AICTE-recognised institution, or a recognised national or international organisation or professional society. The author-position rule applies here too (M.5.1.1).
• Alternatives to the papers exist. One is a granted patent with you as first or second inventor. The other is a significant discovery, theory, product or new variety backed by at least one Scopus paper “with a minimum impact factor of one”. But impact factor is a Clarivate metric, while Scopus publishes CiteScore instead. Our metrics guide explains the difference, and your DRC should tell you which figure it will read.

The rule has changed recently. The 2023 version of Ordinance VI asked for two papers in Scopus or UGC-CARE listed journals, certified by the supervisor and Head. It said nothing about author position or conferences. The 2026 text takes effect from the 2026–27 session. Under clause 2, earlier registrants follow the UGC regulations DU adopted at the time. Did you register before 2026–27? Then get your department’s answer in writing on which rule you must meet. Our DU admission guide covers the programme as a whole.

Notice what DU dropped: UGC-CARE. The new ordinance mentions UGC-CARE only once, in the supervisor-eligibility clause. Even there it counts CARE papers only up to 10 February 2025. The UGC has since decided to stop the CARE listing, as our UGC-CARE explainer describes. For a DU scholar, the safe choice is a Scopus journal whose coverage you can show on the day you submit.

Why do GGSIPU and DTU care who else is named on your paper?

GGSIPU. Clause 9.2 of Ordinance 12 (notified 31 May 2023) asks for at least one paper in a Scopus or Web of Science indexed journal. It can be published or accepted, and you show evidence at submission. Some fields have few indexed journals. Outside the sciences, engineering, technology and management, the School Research Committee may relax the rule in writing. Even then, the paper must be in a peer-reviewed journal with an ISSN. The same clause lets an SRC set a higher bar for its own discipline. So read your School’s minutes as well as the Ordinance. A notice of 27 October 2022 from the Research & Development Cell adds one more point. It records the university’s quality cell recommending that scholars publish in Web of Science or Scopus journals.

Authorship is where GGSIPU scholars get into trouble. The university’s Academic Research and Ethics Regulations, 2020 treat inappropriate authorship as research misconduct. That covers ghost authors, gift authors, authorship given for administrative seniority, or an unfair order of names. It’s graded in the same levels as plagiarism. So a name added to please someone can become a disciplinary matter, not just an ethical one.

DTU. The Form-C goes in with eight copies of your synopsis, and it carries two certificates. In the first, your supervisor certifies two papers published or accepted “amongst the most reputed International journals” of the area. They must be “with the authors name(s) of Supervisor(s) and the candidate only”, and vetted by the SRC. In the second, the DRC chairman certifies the same two papers. A paper written with lab colleagues, or with a collaborator from another institute, may be excellent and still not count. Plan at least two papers where the author list is you and your supervisors alone. Our authorship guide covers the corresponding-author question.

If JNU, Jamia or IIT Delhi ask for little, what should you publish anyway?

JNU. The Academic Ordinances hold two PhD ordinances. Ordinance 13 (A) of 2018 (clause 14.3) asked for one paper in a refereed journal and two conference or seminar presentations. You showed reprints or an acceptance letter at submission. Ordinance 13 (B) applies to scholars admitted from 2022–23, and it has no such clause. After the pre-submission presentation it moves straight to the library’s plagiarism check. Joined between 2018 and 2021? Check with your Centre which ordinance governs you. The admission side is in our JNU admission guide.

Jamia Millia Islamia. Clause 12(d) of Ordinance 9 (IX) asks for at least one paper from your PhD in a peer-reviewed, refereed or UGC-CARE listed journal. It also wants one paper presented at a national or international conference, workshop or seminar. Under clause 12(g), you attach copies of both at the end of the thesis, before your profile. The CARE list is no longer kept up. So pick a journal whose peer review you can show on its own terms.

IIT Delhi. The PhD Ordinances and Regulations set no minimum across the Institute. Regulation R.12.2 lets the 4–6 page synopsis list refereed journal and international conference papers on its last page. And a thesis “may be supplemented by published work” (R.14.3). Departments and supervisors often expect more, so ask your SRC.

No rule? That’s still no reason to skip publishing. Examiners read a thesis with more confidence when its core chapters have already passed peer review. Faculty selection panels count papers too. And the risk runs the other way as well. A paper in a predatory or cloned journal can harm you with an examiner, even where no rule asked for it. Our predatory journal guide lists the warning signs. For the presentation half of the DU and Jamia rules, read conference versus journal papers. And for how Delhi compares with the national position, see our publication requirement guide.

Working with us from Delhi

The first call is about your paper and the rule you’re under. At DU that’s the Scopus-or-approved list and your author position. GGSIPU means Scopus or Web of Science. DTU means a supervisor-only author list, and Jamia a peer-reviewed or CARE journal. At JNU and IIT Delhi there’s nothing formal. Every journal we suggest is checked live on Scopus Sources, and against your rule, on the day we send the shortlist.

Timing follows your stage. A DU scholar needs both papers published and both presentations certified by the RAC before the thesis. The ordinance then allows only three months after the pre-Ph.D. presentation. So aim to have the second paper with a journal a year or more before you plan to present. A GGSIPU or DTU scholar can count an accepted paper. That helps, though peer review still takes months. If you’re at DTU, we check the author list against Form-C before you submit, not after.

Is your supervisor the corresponding author? Then we prepare the files so they can submit from their own account. Revisions reach you as tracked edits in Word, and each one comes with its own similarity report.