9VOM Publishing

Who We Are

9VOM Publishing is an independent academic publishing house headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, and formally registered under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India & a GST registered company. Since beginning operations in December 2022, we have focused on developing and supporting peer reviewed open access journals and books that serve researchers and educators across the health sciences.

Our Publishing Philosophy

Like leading international academic publishers, we believe that strong editorial governance, transparent processes and long term stewardship of the scholarly record are essential. At 9VOM, editorial decisions are independent of commercial considerations, and each partner journal is supported in building credible editorial boards, robust peer review workflows and clear author guidance. We work closely with editors and societies to improve journal quality over time, from manuscript handling and reviewer management to indexing applications and digital visibility.

Ethics and Integrity

All journals published by 9VOM adopt ethical frameworks aligned with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). Submissions are screened for plagiarism and related forms of publication misconduct, and suspected issues are handled using structured, documented procedures consistent with COPE recommendations. Our standard model is double blind peer review, ensuring that authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other to minimize bias and uphold fairness.

Quality, Metadata and Discoverability

We recognise that discoverability and reliable metadata are as important as rigorous peer review. Articles are prepared and published with enriched metadata including ORCID identifiers where available, funding information, keywords and structured references to support indexing, citation tracking and interoperability with major scholarly databases. We use modern journal management platforms and digital preservation services so that published content remains accessible and citable over the long term. 9VOM is a member of Crossref (prefix: 10.61081) and assigns DOIs to all the articles with unique URL.

Our Role in the Global Scholarly Ecosystem

9VOM’s publishing programme is focused and collaborative: we partner with hospitals, professional societies and academic institutions to host and develop their journals, offering editorial, technical and indexing support. Our ambition is not to replicate the scale of legacy global publishers, but to bring the same commitment to editorial excellence and ethical standards to a carefully curated set of titles from India and the wider Global South. By combining local insight with international best practices in open access, we aim to make high quality regional research visible, readable and impactful worldwide.

Looking ahead, 9VOM will continue to contribute towards strengthening journal quality, metadata, preservation and indexing alignment, while expanding selectively into new areas of publishing. Our long term vision is to be recognised as a trusted, specialist open access publisher from India—one that editors, reviewers and authors associate with ethical practices, attentive support and a strong commitment to improving quality of life, knowledge, academic vigour and public health through research dissemination.

All the journals follow internationally accepted guidelines issued by ICMJE, COPE, OASPA and WAME, with clear policies on authorship, conflicts of interest, data integrity and corrections. Each submission undergoes similarity checking for plagiarism, followed by a structured double blind peer review process led by independent editorial boards. Accepted articles are published with rich, machine readable metadata and persistent identifiers to support discoverability, indexing and long term preservation.

Journal publishing workflow

Submission → Editorial Screening → Peer Review → Revision → Decision communication → Acceptance → Production → Publication → Indexing Distribution

Publishing Financing

Currently, most of our published journals are owned by societies, institutions, foundations etc., and are diamond open access. The journal publishing is financed and supported by the respective societies, institutions, APCs, and by itself, which is separated from the editorial decisions.

Plagiarism Screening

Our publishing process mandates the plagiarism screening process before going for production process which facilitates the editors to take reasonable decision and encourages qualitative submissions and publication.

DOI Assignment

9VOM is a member of Crossref (prefix: 10.61081) and assigns DOIs to all the articles with unique URL.

Editorial Independence

Being a scholarly publisher, we ensure and encourage editorial independence at all times.

Peer Review Ethics

Our journals follow double-blind peer review process where authors and reviewers are not aware of each other and maintain independent peer-review through recorded history on the respective Journal review system. The Editor takes final decision based on the reviewers’ comments, recommendations and his editorial expertise.

Conflict of interest

We welcome all authors/ reviewers and editors to declare if any conflict of interest occurs whenever, to the editor/publisher.

Retraction policy

Journals published by 9VOM may retract articles when findings are shown to be unreliable, result from research or publication misconduct, or when they involve redundant publication, plagiarism or serious ethical breaches. Retraction notices will clearly identify the affected article, state the reasons and who is issuing the retraction, and remain freely accessible and linked to the original paper so the scholarly record is transparently corrected rather than erased.

Corrections and errata

When errors are identified that do not invalidate the overall findings, the journal will publish a correction or erratum as soon as possible, clearly linked to the original article. Corrections will describe the nature of the error and the accurate information, and will follow similar citation and indexing practices as the original article.

Data sharing and reproducibility

9VOM encourages authors to make underlying data, analytic methods and materials available whenever ethically and legally feasible, in line with discipline specific norms. Authors should state in the manuscript whether data are openly available, available on reasonable request, or subject to justified restrictions, and provide persistent links or repository identifiers where applicable. Where study type and field permit, journals may require a data availability statement and recommend depositing datasets in recognized repositories to support reproducibility.

Article processing charges (APCs) and waivers

At present, no journals published by 9VOM levy article processing charges (APCs). In the future, if APCs are introduced, they will be kept at an affordable level and will be clearly disclosed on each journal’s website, with no hidden fees. APC waivers or discounts will be offered based on authors’ geographic and economic context (for example, authors from low and lower middle income countries) and on individual case assessment, to ensure that ability to pay does not influence editorial decisions.

Misconduct handling

Allegations of research or publication misconduct—including plagiarism, duplicate or concurrent submission, image or data manipulation, fabrication or falsification, salami slicing, and inappropriate authorship practices—are treated seriously.

Editors will follow a structured process: initial screening and evidence gathering, confidential communication with authors and, where appropriate, institutions, followed by a reasoned decision that may include rejection, publication of a correction or expression of concern, or full retraction in accordance with COPE recommendations. All steps and outcomes are documented to maintain an audit trail and to protect the integrity of the journal.

Authorship and contributorship

Authorship should be based on the ICMJE criteria: substantial contributions to the work’s conception or design or to data acquisition, analysis or interpretation; drafting the article or critically revising it; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work. All four conditions must be met for authorship, and contributors who do not meet these criteria should be listed in acknowledgements with their permission.

Where applicable, journals may also use the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to specify individual contributions (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, supervision, writing original draft, writing review & editing), increasing transparency about who did what in the research.

Transparency

At 9VOM Publishing, we prioritize publishing transparency to build trust with authors, readers, and the global research community. Our comprehensive publishing workflow transparency ensures every stage—from submission and peer review to production and dissemination—is clearly documented and accessible via our Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. We deliver high-quality XML production for all articles, enabling seamless integration with scholarly databases and standards like JATS. Metadata distribution enhances discoverability, while article-level metrics provide granular insights into downloads, citations, and impact. Upholding integrity, our strict data fabrication policy mandates zero tolerance for misconduct, with clear reporting mechanisms and sanctions outlined publicly.

Founder/ Publisher

 Mr. Ashwani Shukla

Mr. Ashwani Shukla is a highly accomplished professional with over 16 years of extensive experience in academic publishing, research, IPR, research fund management, journal marketing, strategic planning, training, presentations, promotions, and product launches. He has worked closely with experts, academic institutions, government bodies, and corporate organizations, establishing himself as a versatile and reliable leader in the field.

With a strong command of both STEM and HSS research publishing, Ashwani is currently driving the transformation of journals to the next level of global publishing, helping them achieve sustainable growth and enhanced visibility, even within constrained budgets.

To his recent credentials, Ashwani has co-founded a unique Public Health Think Tank viz., Global Diaspora for Public Health Dialogues (GdPhd) with a vision to bring ease of digital health accessibility to all.

Production Incharge

 Ms. Ankita Sethia »

Marketing & Communication

 Ms. Supriya Dixit »

Advisor

 Mr. Manish Rastogi

Co-Founder, GdPhD Foundation & Healthcare Continuum

For Authors

Authors are expected to carefully read and follow the detailed “Instructions for Authors” provided on the website of the specific journal to which they are submitting, including any requirements on formatting, reporting standards, data availability and ethics approvals. Before submission, the corresponding author should ensure that all co authors have understood and complied with the journal’s guidelines and with recognized international recommendations such as those of the ICMJE and COPE regarding authorship, conflicts of interest and responsible reporting of research. For any questions about scope, manuscript preparation or ethical issues, authors are encouraged to contact the journal’s editorial office or the publisher in advance for clarification, so that submissions meet the highest standards of scientific integrity and professional conduct.

For Editors

Editors are expected to be fully familiar with the editorial policies, scope and technical requirements of their individual journal, and to consult the publisher whenever clarification is needed on ethical or procedural matters. They should apply international best practice, including COPE and ICMJE recommendations, when handling submissions: ensuring fair and timely peer review, selecting suitably qualified reviewers free from relevant conflicts of interest, safeguarding the confidentiality of manuscripts, and maintaining the integrity of the academic record through appropriate use of corrections, expressions of concern and retractions when required. Editors are encouraged to contact the publisher promptly if they encounter complex or borderline cases of authorship, data integrity or misconduct so that these can be addressed transparently and consistently across the journals.

Publishing workflow

Submission → Editorial Screening → Peer Review → Revision → Acceptance → Production → Publication → Indexing Distribution

For Reviewers

Reviewers are invited as subject matter experts and are expected to read and follow the reviewing guidelines of the specific journal, including the use of the online system, timelines, and criteria for evaluating manuscripts. In line with COPE guidance, reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents, provide objective, evidence based and constructive feedback, declare any potential conflicts of interest, and decline assignments that fall outside their expertise or cannot be completed on time. When uncertain about how to handle a particular issue like possible plagiarism, data inconsistency or undisclosed conflicts—they should contact the handling editor for advice rather than attempting to resolve it independently, helping to ensure that peer review across the journals remains ethical, consistent and respectful

Privacy policy

We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of authors, reviewers, editors and readers who interact with our sites. Personal data collected through manuscript submission, peer review or website use are stored securely, used only for clearly defined editorial and administrative purposes, and never sold or shared with third parties for unrelated marketing. Users may contact the publisher at any time to enquire about, correct or request deletion of their personal information, subject to legal and archival requirements.

Copyright policy

Copyright arrangements may differ between journals published by 9VOM: in some titles, copyright is transferred to the journal or its sponsoring society, while in others authors retain copyright and grant the publisher a licence to publish. The applicable copyright model, along with any “license to publish” terms, is specified on each journal’s website and in its author guidelines, and authors are responsible for reviewing and agreeing to those terms before submission.

Licensing policy

All journals published by 9VOM use open access licences, most commonly Creative Commons licences such as CC BY NC SA, to clarify how readers may share, adapt and reuse published articles. Because licence choice can vary by journal, authors and readers should consult the specific journal site to confirm which Creative Commons licence applies to a given article and what conditions (e.g. non commercial use, share alike) must be observed.

Open access policy

All journals published under 9VOM are fully open access: accepted articles are made freely available online immediately upon publication, with no subscription or pay per view barriers for readers. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute and link to the full texts in accordance with the Creative Commons licence indicated on the article and journal website.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in articles published by 9VOM journals are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the editors, reviewers, sponsoring societies, institutions or the publisher. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published content, 9VOM and its journals accept no responsibility for any loss, damage or injury resulting from the use of information contained on their websites or in their publications.

Terms of use

By accessing and using 9VOM websites and journal content, users agree to comply with the applicable copyright, licensing and open access terms, and to use the material only for lawful, scholarly and educational purposes. Unauthorized commercial use, systematic downloading or redistribution of content, and any activity that may compromise the security or performance of our systems are prohibited, and the publisher reserves the right to restrict access in cases of misuse.

---

Contact 9VOM Publishing

---