The UGC-CARE List of Journals: A Full Guide

What Is the UGC-CARE List of Journals?

UGC-CARE is short for Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics, a programme of the University Grants Commission (UGC), India. Its chief aim was to encourage academic integrity, good research and ethical publishing by compiling a list of trusted, peer-reviewed journals from many disciplines. Such lists work best when authors still confirm a journal's details for themselves.

The UGC-CARE List served as the official point of reference for journals recognized for:

• Ph.D. thesis submissions
• Research grant applications
• Faculty promotions (API scoring)
• Institutional academic assessments (NAAC/NBA)

Why the Former UGC-Approved Journals List Was Discontinued

Until 2018, UGC kept a list of "Approved Journals" that swelled to take in numerous low-quality and even predatory titles. Many of them had no real peer review or editorial openness, which damaged the list's credibility and, by extension, that of Indian research output that depended on it.

UGC formally dropped that earlier list and put the UGC-CARE List in its place, developed together with academic institutions and indexing experts to secure authenticity and fit with global publishing standards.

Period	Development
Pre-2018	Informal "UGC-approved" list that was widely used but criticized for containing predatory and low-quality journals
2018–2019	The old list is ended as UGC founds the Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (CARE)
2020	UGC-CARE List formally launched with clearly defined evaluation protocols
2021	Introduction of the Group I and Group II classification
2023	Transparent Peer Review formally becomes part of the CARE eligibility criteria
2025	Peer-Reviewed Journal Policy updated, with tougher ethics and indexing-verification checks

Aims Behind UGC-CARE

• Encourage quality research publications and academic integrity in every discipline.
• Keep fake, cloned or predatory journals out of academic use.
• Make sure peer review and editorial policies are open and ethical.
• Offer indexing status that anyone can verify independently (e.g., Scopus, Web of Science) instead of depending on claims made by the journals themselves.
• Keep a dynamic journal list for Indian researchers that is updated on an ongoing basis.

Old Approved List vs. UGC-CARE: What Changed

It helps to be precise about how the system before 2018 differs from UGC-CARE, since that gap explains why the newer list has carried far greater weight in academic evaluation:

Dimension	Former "Approved Journals" List	UGC-CARE List
Evaluation basis	Mostly self-declared, with very little verification	Structured protocol covering editorial board, peer review, ISSN, ethics and indexing
Predatory journal risk	High — widely criticized	Journals actively screened for known predatory or cloned warning signs
Update frequency	Infrequent, static	Revised from time to time; journals may be added or taken off
Peer review disclosure	Not required	Compulsory since the 2023 Transparent Peer Review requirement
Cloned-journal safeguards	None	A dedicated list of cloned journals is kept and published

That is exactly the reason institutions came to regard UGC-CARE listing as the real benchmark for API scoring and PhD requirements, instead of a journal's own assertion that it meets "UGC Parameters" in some loose sense. A claim made by the journal itself is never a substitute for an independent record.

Understanding UGC-CARE Group I and Group II

The present UGC-CARE List arranges journals in two principal groups:

Group	Definition
Group I	Journals that qualified through UGC-CARE's own review protocols, assessed directly by academic experts on points such as editorial transparency, peer review documentation and regular publication.
Group II	Titles carried by internationally recognized databases like Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) or MEDLINE, which were admitted on the strength of that external indexing.

A Note on the Earlier Four-Group System

Older guidance may mention a four-group classification (Group A, B, C, D), now superseded, that was used in an earlier stage of UGC-CARE:

• Group A — Journals from all subject areas that appear in Scopus or Web of Science, whether through the Science Citation Index Expanded, the Social Science Citation Index or the Arts & Humanities Citation Index.
• Group B — Journals brought over from the previous list that met UGC-CARE's analysis protocols.
• Group C — Journals put forward by UGC-CARE Council members from various disciplines, which met the analysis protocols.
• Group D — Journals nominated by UGC-CARE member universities across disciplines and languages, which met the analysis protocols.

The simpler Group I / Group II structure described above has since absorbed this four-group arrangement. A source that mentions Groups A–D should be read as historical background and not as the current classification; consult the live portal for how things stand today. Always note the date of any source before relying on its group labels.

How UGC-CARE Actually Assesses a Journal

Knowing how the evaluation worked clarifies why some journals were accepted and others were not. In outline, the UGC-CARE process ran as follows:

1. Submission or nomination — the journal itself, or a council member or university acting for it, puts the journal forward for review.
2. Documentary screening — the submitted evidence is used to check ISSN validity, disclosure of the editorial board, regularity of publication and declared policies.
3. Peer review process audit — reviewers establish whether the review process the journal describes (double-blind, single-blind, open) is truly documented and followed, rather than just asserted.
4. Ethics and anti-predatory screening — the journal is compared with recognised predatory-practice signs such as guaranteed acceptance, fake metrics and unclear fee structures.
5. Committee decision — at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), the UGC-CARE cell and analysis committee settle whether a journal goes into Group I or Group II.
6. Periodic re-evaluation — journals on the list may be assessed again, and dropped if standards decline or complaints are upheld.

Distribution of Listed Journals by Subject

The UGC-CARE List covers an extremely broad span of disciplines. As an illustration, the Group I list has traditionally been arranged under major subject categories roughly as follows:

Subject Category	Illustrative Proportion of Listed Journals
Sciences	Largest single category
Social Sciences	Second-largest category
Arts & Humanities	Sizeable, and not far behind Social Sciences
Indian Languages	Significant dedicated category
Multidisciplinary	The smallest dedicated category, covering research that crosses fields

Essential Features of a UGC-CARE Journal

• Peer-reviewed or refereed — a real, documented review process and not a formality.
• Transparent editorial policies — submission, review and ethics policies that are clear and open to the public.
• Regular publishing frequency — a steady record from issue to issue, with no unexplained gaps.
• Open access or a clearly defined access policy — readers need to know exactly how they can get to the journal.
• No hidden or unethical fees — every charge stated at the outset, with no unexpected costs after acceptance.
• Absent from UGC's cloned or fake journal lists — legitimacy has to be confirmed independently and never assumed.

How to Access and Verify the UGC-CARE List Yourself

Do not trust what any journal says about itself, this one included. Check directly:

1. Go to the official UGC-CARE portal at ugccare.unipune.ac.in.
2. If asked, register with your name and email, then sign in.
3. Find the journal using its title, ISSN, subject category, language, or publisher.
4. Establish if it sits under Group I or Group II in the present list.
5. Separately confirm the journal's ISSN on the official ISSN Portal.
6. Consult the UGC-CARE list of cloned journals to be sure the entry you found is the real journal and not a copy.

Frequent Errors Authors Make When Picking a Journal

Mistake	Why It's Risky
Trusting a journal's own "UGC Parameters" badge without checking the portal	Badges and statements on a website cannot be verified as evidence; the live UGC-CARE portal alone is authoritative
Following a link in an unsolicited email invitation	A typical route for cloned-journal scams that imitate the name and ISSN of a genuine, listed journal
Presuming that a high "impact factor" implies UGC-CARE listing	Impact Factor and UGC-CARE status belong to entirely separate frameworks
Paying a fee before confirming the journal's present listing status	Fees sent to a delisted or cloned journal are usually non-refundable, and the paper may be rejected by academic bodies
Failing to check whether a journal is in Group I or II when it matters	Certain institutional API frameworks give Group I and Group II different weight

Why Publishing in a UGC-CARE Journal Mattered

• Academic recognition — your work is tied to a listing process that was vetted and quality-controlled.
• Visibility and credibility — greater trust from peers, reviewers and evaluation committees.
• PhD and promotion requirements — frequently compulsory for submitting a thesis, obtaining project funding and gaining faculty promotion (API scoring).
• Institutional and international standing — adds to NAAC/NBA assessments and strengthens credibility in international collaboration.

Why This Matters to Different Stakeholders

PhD Scholars

Most Indian universities ask for at least one publication in a UGC-CARE listed journal before a thesis is submitted or the viva voce is held. If you publish by mistake in a non-listed or cloned journal, your degree can be held up for months while a valid replacement paper is organised.

Faculty Members

Under the Academic Performance Indicator (API) system, papers in UGC-CARE journals earned scoring points that bear directly on eligibility for promotion from Assistant Professor up to Professor. Publications outside the list were often ignored completely in this scoring. Planning the venue early prevents last-minute gaps in a promotion file.

Institutions

NAAC and NBA assessments consider an institution's research output. Papers in verifiably listed journals add to it in a positive way, whereas papers in cloned or predatory journals can seriously harm an institution's credibility during an accreditation review.

Independent Researchers

For researchers who have no institutional affiliation, UGC-CARE listing (together with transparent, verifiable peer review) was often the only outside signal showing that a publication had undergone real academic scrutiny. Keep records of your own review process as supporting evidence.

Watch Out for Cloned and Fake Journals

Whatever you submit, and wherever, first check:

• The official UGC-CARE portal itself, and not a link passed on in an unsolicited email.
• That the journal's own official website domain agrees with the one given on the UGC-CARE portal.
• Claims of CrossRef, Scopus or Web of Science indexing, checked independently in the indexing body's own database and never on the journal's word alone.

Where JMVRA Stands Within This Framework

JMVRA (Journal of Modern and Versatile Research Approach) works inside this same UGC-CARE framework, and its credentials are disclosed below:

Parameter	Detail
ISSN	2984-8911
Established	2023
Review Type	Transparent, double-blind, peer-reviewed & refereed
Publication Frequency	Monthly, without gap since June 2023
Impact Factor	Details (based on Google Scholar, not a Scopus/JCR figure)
Publication Fee	₹971 INR (India) / $41 USD (International)
Scopus / Web of Science / DOAJ Indexing	Not indexed at present, and this is stated openly

To see, criterion by criterion, exactly how JMVRA meets UGC-CARE's editorial requirements, read UGC CARE Criteria Explained, or check JMVRA's status yourself on the official portal by cross-checking ISSN 2984-8911.

Frequently Searched Questions About UGC-CARE

Readers reach this guide while searching on many related questions. Below is a quick-reference list giving a brief answer to each:

• What is the UGC-CARE list? UGC maintained it as a roster of reliable peer-reviewed journals accepted for academic evaluation in India.
• Are UGC-approved journals still valid for PhD submission? The older "UGC-approved" wording gave way to UGC-CARE listing, so look at present CARE status and not the former label.
• UGC-CARE Group I vs Group II — which matters more? That rests on your institution's particular API framework; both count as valid CARE listings, though the weighting may differ.
• How to check the UGC-CARE journal list online? Search by title or ISSN right on ugccare.unipune.ac.in.
• What is the latest UGC-CARE journal policy? The newest revision puts weight on transparent peer review, verifiable indexing and safeguards against cloning.
• Why publish in a journal on the UGC-CARE list? Qualifying for API scoring, meeting PhD rules, gaining recognition from your institution and facing less danger from predatory titles.
• Is every Scopus-indexed journal automatically UGC-CARE listed? Not by default. Entry into Group II still depended on the journal being added to the UGC-CARE list itself.
• How does the UGC-CARE list divide journals by subject? Broadly into Multidisciplinary, Indian Languages, Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences.

At-a-Glance Checklist

1. History understoodLists appeared and disappeared
2. Groups understoodI and II
3. Current rule knownParameters
4. Old list used carefullyFor archive use only
5. Institution askedWhat is accepted today

Using Historical Journal Lists Wisely Without Being Misled

Older lists still circulate in presentations, forums and journal advertisements. Knowing how to read them as history, rather than as current proof, protects you from outdated or exaggerated claims.

• Look at the date of any list. A list copied into a document or website may be stale. Always ask when it was compiled and whether the source still maintains it before trusting a claim.
• Match titles to exact identifiers. Journals often share similar names, so compare the full title and identifier number, not just the name. This single habit exposes many imitation titles.
• Treat screenshots as weak evidence. Images of lists are easy to edit or to take out of context. Prefer a source you can open yourself and that clearly shows its own publication details.
• Explain history in your own file. When a journal was once listed but no longer is, say so honestly in your records. Accurate description of a past status is better than silence or inflated wording.

Read old lists as historical context, verify identifiers yourself, and describe past status honestly in anything you write.

Questions Researchers Often Ask