On 26th March 2022, Centre for Civil Society hosted a panel discussion on ‘Open Access in South Asia’ as part of the PRISM - the science & technology policy dialogue series. The speakers included Ms. Anubha Sinha (Senior Researcher at Centre for Internet and Society), Dr. Haseeb Irfanullah (Independent Consultant in Environment, Climate Change & Research System, based in Bangladesh) and Prof. Devika Madalli (Chair, Working Group, Open Access India; Professor, Documentation Research and Training Centre, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore). The discussion was moderated by Dr Moumita Koley (Policy Researcher at DST-Centre for Policy Research, IISc, Bangalore). This document captures some key insights from the discussion. The speakers shared their insights on differences in open access narratives in high income countries vs low & middle income countries, India’s ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ idea, potential for a unified power of South Asia, Copyright Act, and the need for a national open access, among other key topics.
