UGC CARE — Discontinued
The UGC CARE list has been discontinued
The UGC discontinued its CARE list of journals in February 2025. You can still verify a journal's Scopus, ABDC, and DOAJ status below.
Following its Commission meeting on 3 October 2024, the UGC discontinued the centralised UGC-CARE list of journals. On 24 June 2025 it approved a set of Suggestive Parameters for selecting peer-reviewed journals, moving responsibility to universities and institutions. The final archived list (1,474 journals, as of 10 February 2025) remains on the UGC website for reference only.
What was the UGC CARE list?
The University Grants Commission Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (UGC CARE) maintained an official reference list of legitimate peer-reviewed journals, intended to help Indian academics, institutions, and universities identify quality publications for evaluation purposes.
The list was divided into two groups and was used for faculty promotion under the Academic Performance Indicator (API) system, PhD thesis submission requirements at many universities, and NAAC accreditation assessments of institutional research output — until it was discontinued in February 2025.
What has replaced UGC CARE?
Instead of a single centralised list, the UGC has introduced Suggestive Parameters for selecting peer-reviewed journals (approved 24 June 2025). Responsibility for vetting journals now sits with individual universities and institutions, which are expected to form their own committees to assess journal quality against these parameters.
In practice, this means researchers should now rely on established international indexes to judge a journal's standing:
- Scopus — indexing status and SJR quartile (Q1–Q4)
- Web of Science — coverage in the Clarivate Master Journal List
- ABDC — for business and management journals (A*, A, B, C)
- DOAJ — for verifying legitimate open access journals
Academint shows all of these for each journal — search above to view a journal's full indexing profile.
Group 1 vs Group 2 — what was the difference?
Historical reference — the two-group structure applied while the UGC CARE list was active (until February 2025).
Note: Requirements vary across institutions and roles. Always verify with your institution's promotion ordinance.
Where UGC CARE listing used to matter
While the list was active, UGC CARE status was a factor in several evaluation contexts. Institutions are now expected to apply the UGC's suggestive parameters in these same areas:
- Faculty promotion (CAS / API): Publication quality is counted under the Academic Performance Indicator system for Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor promotions.
- PhD thesis submission: Many Indian universities mandate at least one publication in a Scopus/WoS indexed or peer-reviewed journal before thesis submission under NEP 2020 guidelines.
- NAAC accreditation (Criterion III): Research and innovation criteria for NAAC include the quality and quantity of publications in recognised journals.
- NIRF Rankings: The National Institutional Ranking Framework considers publications in quality journals as part of Research and Professional Practice indicators.
How to verify a journal now
- Search the journal by name or ISSN in the search bar above.
- On the journal profile page, check the Indexing & Recognition section.
- Review its Scopus quartile, ABDC rank, and DOAJ status — the indexes researchers now rely on.
- Confirm the official website and publisher match before submitting your manuscript.