Plagiarism Policy

Overview

The primary work conducted by the author must be based on original concepts and adhere to a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding Plagiarism. If any instances of plagiarism are identified and reported, the matter will be referred to the Plagiarism Disciplinary Authority (PDA) for appropriate and maximum sanctions.

The primary work should include the following components: an abstract with keywords, introduction, objectives, hypotheses, research methodology, analysis and interpretation, summaries and observations, conclusions, recommendations, and references.

In line with the ethical standards in higher education, proper research conduct, and prevention of misconduct as stipulated by the UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations of 2018, students, researchers, and faculty members are prohibited from engaging in any form of academic misconduct involving the theft of intellectual property.

The research work carried out by students, faculty, researchers, and staff must be based on original ideas, including abstract, summary, hypothesis, observations, results, conclusions, and recommendations, and must not contain any similarities. It shall exclude common knowledge or coincidental terms, up to fourteen (14) consecutive words.

Levels of Plagiarism (Based on UGC Guidelines, India)

Plagiarism is quantified into the following levels in ascending order of severity:

  • Level 0: Similarities up to 10% - Minor similarities, no penalty
  • Level 1: Similarities above 10% to 40%
  • Level 2: Similarities above 40% to 60%
  • Level 3: Similarities above 60%

Penalties for Plagiarism

If found guilty of plagiarism, the following penalties will apply based on the severity level:

  • Level 0 (Similarities up to 10%): No penalty for minor similarities. However, the author or researcher shall be asked to resubmit the work with 0% plagiarism.
  • Level 1 (Similarities above 10% to 40%): The author shall be asked to withdraw the manuscript submitted for publication and will not be allowed to publish any work for a minimum period of one year.
  • Level 2 (Similarities above 40% to 60%): The author shall be asked to withdraw the manuscript submitted for publication, will not be allowed to publish any work for a minimum period of one year, will be denied a right to one annual increment (in the case of an academician), and will not be allowed to supervise any M.Phil. or Ph.D. student/scholar for a period of two years.
  • Level 3 (Similarities above 60%): The author shall be asked to withdraw the manuscript submitted for publication, will not be allowed to publish any work for a minimum period of three years, will be denied a right to two successive annual increments (in the case of faculty), and will not be allowed to supervise any UG, PG, Master's, M.Phil., or Ph.D. student/scholar for a period of three years.

Additional Notes on Penalties

Note 1: Penalty on Repeated Plagiarism
The author shall be asked to withdraw the manuscript and will be punished for the plagiarism at one level higher than the previous offense. If the highest level (Level 3) of plagiarism is committed repeatedly, disciplinary action, including suspension or termination as per service rules, will be taken by the University.

Note 2: Penalty When Benefit or Credit Has Been Obtained
If plagiarism is proven after a benefit or credit has been obtained, the benefit or credit will be put on hold for a period recommended by the Institutional Academic Integrity Panel (IAIP) and approved by the Head of the Institution.

Necessary Precautions

In cases where an individual is accused of plagiarism and found guilty, they may be subject to legal action in a court of law by the claimant as per copyright norms.

Citation Policy to Avoid Plagiarism

To prevent piracy of intellectual property, authors must adhere to the following citation guidelines:

  • When 14 consecutive words are taken from an established core work, citation is mandatory.
  • When the copied content accumulates to 40 words, the fragment must be placed within quotation marks ("_") in italics.
  • Authors are required to cite references for any content adopted from sources other than open internet sites. Even in the case of open internet sources, if the copied content exceeds 30% in aggregate during plagiarism detection, the work will not be considered for further proceedings.

Policy Updates

This policy is framed in accordance with the provisions of the UGC Regulation 2018 for Plagiarism and may be updated with amendments to the UGC Regulation.