Patna: A new agreement between Bihar Engineering University and the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre is set to expand digital library access and research facilities across government engineering colleges in the state.
A memorandum of understanding was signed on Friday between Bihar Engineering University, Patna, and the INFLIBNET Centre, enabling students, researchers and faculty members to access a wide range of national-level academic and research resources free of cost through institutional logins.
The agreement was formalised by Pradip Kumar, registrar of Bihar Engineering University, and Devika P Madalli, director of the INFLIBNET Centre, in the presence of the state minister for science, technology and technical education, Sunil Kumar, along with senior officials from the department and the university.
Under the arrangement, Bihar Engineering University and its affiliated government engineering colleges will be connected to multiple digital platforms, including ShodhGanga for theses, ShodhShuddhi for plagiarism detection, One Nation One Subscription (ONOS), IRINS for research information management, SOUL library automation, IndCat, and several other databases. These services provide integrated access to e-journals, e-books, doctoral theses, patents, conference proceedings and other scholarly material.
Addressing the gathering, Sunil Kumar said the initiative reflected the Bihar government’s efforts to link technical education with research and innovation. He said centralised digital platforms would allow students in government engineering colleges to access academic resources comparable to those available at leading institutions across the country, supporting the state’s push for more transparent and quality-driven technical education.
The departmental secretary, Pratima, said the MoU would simplify access to reliable and up-to-date academic material through a single interface, improving the quality of project work, seminars and research outputs. She added that tools such as the plagiarism detection system would also help reinforce academic integrity.
The vice-chancellor of Bihar Engineering University, Suresh Kant Verma, described the partnership as a significant milestone, saying it would strengthen teaching and research by integrating the university and its colleges into the national digital academic network.
Officials said the collaboration would also streamline academic resource management and promote wider use of digital research tools. Technical integration, appointment of nodal officers and training programmes are expected to follow to ensure the services are embedded into regular academic and research activities across colleges.
