No more operational. Now merged in e-Shodh Sindhu from December 2015
The “Indian National Digital Library in Engineering Sciences and Technology (INDEST) Consortium” was set up in 2003 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on the recommendation of an Expert Group appointed by the Ministry. The IIT Delhi has been designated as the Consortium Headquarters to coordinate its activities. The Consortium was re-named as INDEST-AICTE Consortium in December 2005 with the AICTE playing a pivotal role in enrolling its approved engineering colleges and institutions as members of the Consortium for selected e-resources at much lower rates of subscription. The Consortium enrolls engineering and technological institutions as its members and subscribe to electronic resources for them at discounted rates of subscription and favourable terms and conditions. The Ministry provides funds required for subscription to electronic resources for 62 centrally-funded Government institutions including IITs, IISc Bangalore, NITs, ISM, IIITs, IIMs, NITTTR’s and few other institutions that are considered as core members of the Consortium. The benefit of consortia-based subscription to electronic resources is not confined to its core members but is also extended to all educational institutions under its open-ended proposition. 60 Govt./Govt.-aided engineering colleges are provided access to selected electronic resources with financial support from the AICTE and 102 univeristies/institutions have joined the Consortium under its self-supported category in 2012. The total number of members in the Consortium has now grown to 1235.
The INDEST-AICTE Consortium is the most ambitious initiative taken so far in the country. It is the biggest Consortium in terms of number of member institutions in Asia. The Consortium attracts the best possible price and terms of agreement from the publishers on the basis of strength of its present and prospective member institutions. The Consortium subscribes to over 12,000 electronic journals from a number of publishers and aggregators. The consortium website at http://paniit.iitd.ac.in/indest hosts searchable databases of journals and member institutions to locate journals subscribed by the Consortium, their URLs and details of member institutions
ii) To extend the benefit of consortia-based subscription beyond the core members to other engineering and technological institutions;
iii) To impart training to the users and librarians in the member institutions on subscribed electronic resources with an aim to optimise the usage of subscribed electronic resources;
iv) To find more avenues of cooperation and interaction amongst member libraries and other consortia of the country;
v) To increase scientific productivity of member institutions in terms of quality and quantity of publications;
vi) To help new engineering institutes and colleges to make the right choice of e- resources; and