In order to prevent all kinds of plagiarism in the intellectual assets of Ayurveda research scholars, the academic wing of the Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers of India (AMMOI) has urged the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) to launch a web portal for posting and sharing of PG contents and Ph D thesis submitted by students of Ayurveda.

Lack of a web portal to act as a resource centre to upkeep the intellectual works of students, chances of plagiarism in the field are mounting.

Dr D Ramanathan, the former member of CCIM from Kerala and the secretary of AMMOI has forwarded a proposal in this regard to the president of CCIM and to the ministry of health & family welfare, urging them to initiate immediate steps towards the launching of a website. He said anti-plagiarism software should also be installed in the new portal as there are plenty of students engage in academic dishonesty.

With a website exclusively for publishing thesis, the researchers of Indian medicines can be brought together into a common platform which could help them share their ideas and intellectual properties. A screening committee has to be formed for the purpose of verifying and identifying if any portion of any work has been copied from anybody else work, he said in the letter.

Dr Ramanathan said a demand put to AMMOI by research scholars of Ayurveda in order to take up with CCIM illustrates that the chances of research scholars getting approvals for their thesis are low when there is high percentage of plagiarism by dishonest students. This reduces the accountability in the research work as well as demotes the rights of the original author. If a web portal is there to post all the study papers and an expert screening committee to act, nobody would try to copy the intellectual work of others, even if anyone tries, it can be immediately found out.

The suggestion for the web portal explains that the design of CCRAS can be replicated as it is a resource centre for all kinds of research work submitted by scholars from all the divisions of Indian traditional medicines. The need of the hour is to launch a portal exclusively for posting the study papers of research scholars of traditional medicines, wanted AMMOI.