UGC-CARE List 2026: Old Lists, Notices & New Rules

Are you after the UGC CARE journal list 2026? This page gathers it all: the former UGC approved list, the UGC-CARE list along with its last archived edition, UGC’s notices from 2018 through 2025 in a built-in PDF viewer, the new UGC recommendation of 35 suggestive parameters for choosing peer-reviewed journals, and a detailed account, parameter by parameter, of where JMVRA stands. If you only want the dates, go to the timeline first.

A Quick View of UGC Journal Lists

Chronology of All UGC Notices

1. 28 November 2018: the public notice by which UGC founded UGC-CARE (the Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics) and a “CARE Reference List of Quality Journals”; until that CARE list appears, the existing UGC approved list continues to be valid.
2. 14 January 2019: a UGC-CARE notice issued while the consortium was being set up.
3. 2019: the old UGC approved list gives way to the UGC-CARE list.
4. 3 October 2024: at its 584th meeting the Commission resolves to end UGC-CARE listing and draw up suggestive parameters.
5. 11 February 2025: a public notice declaring the discontinuation (replacing the 2018 notice), with draft parameters open for comments up to 25 February 2025 at [email protected].
6. 24 June 2025: the final parameters and a reference list receive approval at the 591st meeting.
7. 16 July 2025: the public notice that issues the 35 suggestive parameters (Annexure-I) as well as the 1,474 UGC-CARE journals listed as on 10 February 2025, to be used for reference only.

Every UGC Notice and List (PDF Viewer)

The latest come first. Three notices show up straight in the viewer, whereas the three bigger lists load only after you press “Load the PDF viewer here”, which saves your data. Should a document fail to appear on your phone, choose “Open in a new tab” or “Download”.

The Content of Each Notice

The Former UGC Approved List

UGC maintained its own approved list of journals ahead of UGC-CARE. The 2019 copy stored on this site contains 3,153 journals, and a “Cancelled” watermark marks every page, because it is a record of the past rather than a present approval.

All 3,153 entries can be searched by title, publisher or ISSN on the old UGC approved list page, and another reference table sits on UGC CARE list of journals. Certain titles in Indian scripts do not come out cleanly from the PDF, so compare those with the original.

The UGC-CARE List from 2019 to 2025

• Group I: journals that UGC-CARE evaluated itself before including them.
• Group II: journals admitted on account of their indexing in Scopus or Web of Science.
• Final list: the 1,474 UGC-CARE journals as on 10 February 2025, which UGC released on 16 July 2025 purely as a reference resource. Since the PDF is made of scanned pages, it appears in the viewer above and not as a searchable table.

Our UGC CARE Group I and II guide holds the earlier explanation of the groups and the previous status guide.

Using the Archived Lists at Present

1. For history: to learn if a journal was listed at a particular time, which helps for papers published while the list was in force.
2. Never as approval: UGC says that being included or excluded implies no validation or endorsement.
3. Combined with up-to-date checks: look up indexing in Scopus Sources or the Master Journal List, then bring in UGC’s parameters.
4. Together with your institution’s rule: HEIs can lay down their own requirements via internal committees.

For a hands-on method, read finding UGC-CARE recommended and peer-reviewed journals.

UGC’s New Recommendation: 35 Suggestive Parameters

The 16 July 2025 notice’s Annexure-I presents these parameters “as general guidelines to ensure the peer-reviewed journals’ quality, transparency, and relevance”. Students and faculty may refer to them when picking journals that fit their fields, while HEIs may constitute internal committees to adjust them.

Draft Parameters Compared with Final Ones

The draft of February 2025 had 36 parameters. In the final version, approved in June 2025 and published in July, “5.6 Online Availability” was dropped (the rest of Category 5 was renumbered) and 7.1 changed from “Impact Factor” to “Impact Factor or Similar Factor (if applicable)”. Rely on the July 2025 version. Quoting a superseded draft can weaken an otherwise sound argument.

How JMVRA Measures Up to the New UGC Recommendation

JMVRA’s response to each of the 35 parameters follows, set out candidly, including cases where a figure is not published or a parameter is not applicable. Overall: 28 met, 2 partly met, 3 not published and 2 not applicable.

Compile an Evidence File to Show Your Institution

Institutions now assess journals on their own, so for every paper keep a brief, dated evidence file containing:

• A dated screenshot or PDF of the journal’s ISSN Portal entry and its website home page.
• The journal’s policies on peer review, ethics, plagiarism, conflict of interest and AI.
• The editorial board page together with the fee page.
• A printout of the entry in whichever database applies (Scopus, Web of Science, DOAJ); for metrics, name the source and year.
• Your acceptance letter, the reviewer comments and the published version of your article.

Authors of JMVRA can download the ready-made JMVRA evidence file.

Share Your Research Through JMVRA

Your At-a-Glance Checklist

1. StatusThe CARE list is archived and none is active
2. DocumentsNotices can be read in the viewer
3. ParametersEach of the 35 checked
4. IndexingConfirmed at the original source
5. RuleYour institution’s present rule
6. EvidenceA dated file is ready

Keeping Reliable Records of Official Notices for Your Institution

Official notices on journal lists were issued over several stages, and institutions sometimes refer to different ones. Careful note keeping helps you answer questions from examiners, auditors and colleagues without searching in a panic.

• Download originals, not summaries. Save the notice itself from the issuing body's website, along with its address. Blog summaries and forwarded messages may paraphrase wrongly or leave out conditions that matter to your case.
• Name files by date and subject. Use a consistent naming style such as subject, issuer and month so that documents sort clearly. You will thank yourself when an examiner asks for a particular notice.
• Note which notice applies to you. Your paper may have been submitted, accepted or published at different stages. Write a short line explaining which notice was relevant at the time, so your timeline is clear.
• Distinguish draft from final text. Drafts invite comments and may differ from the final wording. Always quote the final version in applications, and label clearly anything you cite from a draft.
• Share the folder with your guide. Giving your supervisor access to the same records avoids contradictory assumptions. If rules change, you can both update the folder and keep your documentation consistent.

Collect original notices, label them carefully and share them with your supervisor, so every claim in your file can be traced to its source.

Questions Researchers Often Ask

In Summary

In 2026 the UGC CARE journal list is only an archive. The former UGC approved list and the final UGC-CARE list of 1,474 journals are now history and are retained for reference. What applies today is UGC’s 35 suggestive parameters, used together with your institution’s rule. Go through the notices, test journals against the parameters, confirm indexing at its source and save dated evidence. JMVRA publishes openly how it meets every parameter, and it welcomes your paper. Doing these checks before submission is far easier than defending a journal choice afterwards.

Official Sources

• University Grants Commission (UGC) — official website
• Final list of UGC-CARE journals (UGC website, PDF)
• UGC-CARE portal (historical reference and notices)
• UGC Public Notice, 16 July 2025 (local copy, PDF)