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{{Short description|Indian data scientist}}

{{Infobox scientist
| name = Achal Agrawal
| image =
| caption =
| birth_place = India
| fields = [[Applied mathematics]], [[Data science]], [[Research integrity]], [[Scientometrics]]
| workplaces = [[India Research Watch]]
| alma_mater = [[Paris-Saclay University]] (Ph.D.)
| known_for = Founder of [[India Research Watch]]
| awards = [[Nature's 10]] (2025)
}}

'''Achal Agrawal''' is an Indian [[data scientist]] and [[research integrity]] advocate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Naddaf |first=Miryam |date=2025-12-08 |title=This science sleuth revealed a retraction crisis at Indian universities |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03839-2 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=648 |issue=8094 |pages=518–518 |doi=10.1038/d41586-025-03839-2 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Achal Agrawal Exposes Research Misconduct In India |url=https://letsdatascience.com/news/achal-agrawal-exposes-research-misconduct-in-india-ace8038f}}</ref> He is the founder of [[India Research Watch]] (IRW),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Calls beckon for a research watchdog in India - QS Insights Magazine 34 |url=https://magazine.qs.com/qs-insights-magazine-34/calls-beckon-for-a-research-watchdog-in-india |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=magazine.qs.com |language=en}}</ref> a volunteer-run non-profit organisation established in November 2022 to investigate and raise awareness about [[scientific misconduct]] in India.<ref name=Ravindranath-2025>{{Cite web |last=Ravindranath |first=Prasad |date=2025-12-09 |title=Achal Agrawal, Research-Integrity Sleuth From India, Among 'Nature's 10 People Who Helped Shape Science In 2025' |url=https://sciencechronicle.in/2025/12/09/achal-agrawal-research-integrity-sleuth-from-india-among-natures-10-people-who-helped-shape-science-in-2025/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Science Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Agrawal |first=Achal |date=2023-11-16 |title=Alarming rise of scientific misconduct recorded in India {{!}} Data |url=https://www.thehindu.com/data/alarming-rise-of-scientific-misconduct-recorded-in-india-data/article67531607.ece |access-date=2026-03-31 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-26 |title=Do we really need to worry about hyper-prolific authors? |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/do-we-really-need-worry-about-hyper-prolific-authors |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en}}</ref>
In 2025, he was named to [[Nature's 10]], the journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''{{'}}s annual list of people who shaped science.<ref name="nature">{{Cite journal |last=Naddaf |first=Miryam |title=This science sleuth revealed a retraction crisis at Indian universities |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=648 |page=518 |year=2025 |doi=10.1038/d41586-025-03839-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=中時新聞網 |date=2025-12-10 |title=《自然》十大科學人物 DeepSeek梁文鋒入選 - 兩岸新聞 |url=https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20251210000730-260303?chdtv |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=中時新聞網 |language=zh-TW}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrei |first=Mihai |date=2025-12-08 |title=Ten People Who Shaped Science In 2025 |url=https://www.zmescience.com/science/ten-people-who-shaped-science-in-2025/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=ZME Science |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Education ==
Agrawal received a Doctor of Philosophy in applied mathematics from the [[Paris-Saclay University]] in Orsay, France, in 2016.<ref name=Ravindranath-2025/> His doctoral research concerned coordination protocols and resource allocation in wireless communication networks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Achal Agrawal's research works |url=https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Achal-Agrawal-2053827085 |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=ResearchGate}}</ref> He returned to India in 2018 and worked as an academic in data science before founding India Research Watch.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Science journal 'Nature' honours Raipur data scientist Achal Agrawal for exposing academic misconduct |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/nature-names-raipur-data-scientist-achal-agrawal-for-exposing-research-misconduct-prnt/cid/2138366 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260212231026/https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/nature-names-raipur-data-scientist-achal-agrawal-for-exposing-research-misconduct-prnt/cid/2138366 |archive-date=2026-02-12 |access-date=2026-03-31 |language=en}}</ref>

== India Research Watch ==
Agrawal founded [[India Research Watch]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Basu |first=Mohana |date=2024-01-22 |title=This Indian watchdog is cleaning up 'mess' in academia—falsification, fabrication & fraud |url=https://theprint.in/ground-reports/this-indian-watchdog-is-cleaning-up-mess-in-academia-falsification-fabrication-fraud/1933904/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref> in November 2022 after an encounter with a student who had used paraphrasing software to repackage published work, an experience that prompted him to confront what he saw as widespread normalisation of research misconduct in Indian higher education<ref>{{Cite web |last=Excelsior |first=Daily |date=2026-01-14 |title=Achal Agrawal and the Moral Reawakening of Indian Science |url=https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/achal-agrawal-and-the-moral-reawakening-of-indian-science/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Daily Excelsior |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="the">{{Cite web |title=Penalise 'retraction hotspot' universities, says integrity expert |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/penalise-retraction-hotspot-universities-says-integrity-tsar |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=[[Times Higher Education]] |date=2026-01-15}}</ref>

IRW uses publicly available data, including the [[Retraction Watch]] database, to track retraction trends at Indian institutions. Agrawal's analyses showed that India's retraction rate rose from 0.7 per 1,000 papers in 2014 to a peak of 4.8 in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oransky |first=Ivan |date=2014-01-25 |title=Weekend reads: Trying unsuccessfully to correct the scientific record; drug company funding and research |url=https://retractionwatch.com/2014/01/25/weekend-reads-trying-unsuccessfully-to-correct-the-scientific-record-drug-company-funding-and-research/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Retraction Watch |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Desk 1 |first=IndraStra Global Editorial |title=Growing Cases of Scientific Misconduct in India Spark Worry Within the Academic Community |url=https://www.indrastra.com/2023/11/growing-cases-of-scientific-misconduct.html |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=IndraStra Global |language=en}}</ref> In 2024, Agrawal and collaborator Moumita Koley at the [[Indian Institute of Science]] flagged concerns that some universities may have been manipulating metrics<ref>{{Cite news |last=Koley |first=Moumita |date=2023-06-14 |title=Explained {{!}} Is the National Institutional Ranking Framework flawed? |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/nirf-overreliance-bibliometric-data-flaws/article66965043.ece |access-date=2026-03-31 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> used in the [[National Institutional Ranking Framework]] (NIRF).<ref>{{Citation |last=Agrawal |first=Achal |title=Are the Metrics being Gamed? A Closer Look at the Rise and Fall of Universities in NIRF 2024 Rankings |date=2024-08-20 |url=https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13350313 |access-date=2026-03-31 |publisher=Zenodo |doi=10.5281/ZENODO.13350313 |last2=Koley |first2=Moumita}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Koley |first=Achal Agrawal, Moumita |date=2024-07-08 |title=NIRF parameters ill-designed & lead to absurd university ratings. Govt must order a review |url=https://theprint.in/opinion/nirf-parameters-ill-designed-lead-to-absurd-university-ratings-govt-must-order-a-review/2164860/ |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref> IRW's advocacy is widely credited with contributing to a 2025 policy change by the NIRF to impose penalties<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mallapaty |first=Smriti |date=2025-08-01 |title=India to penalize universities with too many retractions |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02364-6 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=644 |issue=8076 |pages=317–318 |doi=10.1038/d41586-025-02364-6 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref> on higher-education institutions with high numbers of retracted papers<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-08 |title=NIRF ranking 2025: Higher education institutes to be penalised for retracted papers |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nirf-ranking-2025-higher-education-institutes-to-be-penalised-for-retracted-papers-101754643154352.html |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-10-03 |title=NIRF to introduce negative marking for retracted papers, poor quality research |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/nirf-to-introduce-negative-marking-for-retracted-papers-poor-quality-research/articleshow/124286175.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2026-03-31 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref>

== References ==
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Paris-Saclay University alumni]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Achal Agrawal - Revision history

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