Policy

Indian Journal of Environment & Development (IJED)
 Journal Policies
 1. Peer Review Policy
The Indian Journal of Environment & Development is committed to maintaining high standards of scholarly quality through a rigorous and fair peer review process.
Review Model
All submissions undergo double-blind peer review, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from one another throughout the review process.
Process
1. Initial Editorial Screening — Upon submission, manuscripts are first assessed by the Editor-in-Chief or an assigned handling editor to determine whether the work fits the journal's aims and scope, meets basic quality and formatting standards, and has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere. Manuscripts that do not meet these minimum standards may be desk-rejected without external review.
2. Reviewer Assignment — Manuscripts that pass initial screening are sent to a minimum of two independent subject-matter experts for review. Reviewers are selected based on relevant expertise and absence of conflicts of interest with the author(s).
3. Review Criteria — Reviewers evaluate manuscripts on originality, scientific/scholarly rigor, methodology, clarity of argument, relevance to the journal's scope, and quality of presentation.
4. Review Outcome — Based on reviewer recommendations, the editor determines one of the following outcomes: Accept, Minor Revisions Required, Major Revisions Required, or Reject.
5. Revisions‚ Äî Authors are given a specified period to revise and resubmit their manuscript in response to reviewer comments. Revised manuscripts may be sent back to original reviewers or evaluated by the editor directly.
6. Final Decision‚ Äî The Editor-in-Chief holds final authority over acceptance or rejection of all manuscripts.
Timeline
The journal aims to complete the initial review process within [X weeks] of submission, though timelines may vary depending on reviewer availability and manuscript complexity.
Confidentiality
All manuscripts under review are treated as confidential documents. Reviewers are required not to share, discuss, or use unpublished manuscript content for personal gain.
Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest (financial, professional, or personal) that could bias their review and recuse themselves from reviewing such manuscripts.
Appeals
Authors who disagree with an editorial decision may submit a formal appeal with justification to the Editor-in-Chief, who will review the case, potentially with input from an independent reviewer or editorial board member.
 2. Copyright Policy
Ownership of Copyright
Authors retain copyright of their work published in the Indian Journal of Environment & Development. Upon acceptance, authors grant the journal a license to publish the article and to identify itself as the original publisher.
License to Publish
By submitting a manuscript, authors agree that if accepted, the article will be published under a [Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0)] license, or another license as specified by the journal, allowing others to share and adapt the work provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.
Author Warranties
Authors warrant that:
- The submitted work is original and has not been published elsewhere in any form or language.
- The manuscript is not under consideration by any other journal or publication.
- All co-authors have approved the final version and agreed to its submission.
- Any third-party material (images, data, tables, quotations) included in the manuscript has been used with appropriate permission and attribution.
Use of Published Material
Readers and third parties may reproduce, distribute, and adapt published articles for non-commercial purposes, provided proper citation is given to the original publication. Commercial use may require separate permission from the author(s) and/or journal.
Self-Archiving
Authors are permitted to self-archive their accepted manuscript (post-peer-review, pre-formatting) or the final published version in institutional repositories, personal websites, or preprint servers, provided the original publication in this journal is acknowledged with a full citation and, where applicable, a link to the published version.
 3. Plagiarism Policy
The Indian Journal of Environment & Development upholds a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and other forms of research misconduct.
Definition
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
- Presenting another person's ideas, data, text, or work as one's own without appropriate citation.
- Substantial copying of text, figures, or data from previously published sources (including one's own prior publications, i.e., self-plagiarism) without proper attribution.
- Submitting a translated version of a previously published work without disclosure and appropriate permissions.
Screening Procedure
All submitted manuscripts are checked for textual similarity using plagiarism-detection software prior to being sent for peer review. Manuscripts exceeding an acceptable similarity threshold (typically below [10–15]%, excluding references and standard phrases) may be returned to authors for revision or rejected outright.
Handling Suspected Plagiarism
- Before Publication: If plagiarism is detected or suspected at any stage prior to publication, the editor will contact the corresponding author for clarification. Depending on severity, the manuscript may be rejected, and the author's institution may be notified in serious cases.
- After Publication: If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal will investigate the claim, which may result in a correction, an expression of concern, or full retraction of the article, in line with standard practices such as those recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Author Responsibility
Authors are responsible for ensuring that all sources are properly cited and that any reused material (including their own previously published content) is clearly disclosed and appropriately referenced.
Reporting Concerns
Any suspected instances of plagiarism, whether identified by reviewers, editors, or readers, can be reported to the editorial office for investigation.
 4. Open Access Policy
The Indian Journal of Environment & Development is committed to the principle of open access, believing that freely available research supports greater global exchange of knowledge and accelerates scientific and developmental progress.
Immediate Open Access
All articles published in this journal are made freely available online immediately upon publication, without subscription, registration, or payment barriers for readers.
License
Published articles are distributed under a [Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0)] license (or as otherwise specified), permitting users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of articles, and to reuse them for any lawful purpose, provided appropriate credit is given to the original source.
No Reader Fees
Readers may access, download, and use all published content free of charge.
Article Processing Charges (APC)
[To be specified by the journal — e.g., "This journal does not charge article processing fees" or "An article processing charge of ₹[amount] applies upon acceptance to support the costs of open access publishing."]
Archiving and Preservation
The journal encourages long-term preservation of its content and supports authors' rights to deposit published articles in institutional or subject-based repositories in accordance with the journal's copyright and self-archiving policy.¯
Compliance
This open access policy is intended to align with widely recognized standards such as the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of open access.