Governance Policies

Editorial Independence Policy

  1. Editorial decisions will be independent of the publisher, sponsors, or institutions
  2. There will be no external influence for acceptance or rejection of manuscripts

Peer Review Policy

  1. The peer review will be double-blind
  2. There will be minimum of two independent reviewers per manuscript
  3. Reviewers will be selected based on their expertise and absence of conflict of interest

Conflict of Interest Policy

  1. There will be mandatory disclosure by authors, reviewers, and editors
  2. The editors will refrain themselves from taking decisions where conflicts exist

Publication Ethics Policy

The journal will follow strict adherence to policies on:

  • Plagiarism
  • Data fabrication/falsification
  • Duplicate publication
  • Salami slicing

Authorship Policy

  1. The authorship will be solely based on substantial contributions for the work
  2. The ICMJE authorship criteria will be followed for the same

Retraction, Correction & Expression of Concern Policy

  1. There will be transparent procedures for corrections and retractions
  2. Any notices in relation to these will be  published promptly and will be clearly linked to original articles

Reviewer Ethics & Confidentiality Policy

  1. The manuscripts will be handled in total confidentiality.
  2. The unpublished data will strictly be not used for any purpose
  3. The reviews will be timely and constructive.

Appeals & Complaints Policy

  1. The authors shall have right to appeal editorial decisions
  2. The appeals shall be reviewed by Editor-in-Chief and Ethics Editor
  3. All complaints received will be handled confidentially and fairly

Amendments –

  1. The policies will  be updated with approval of Editor-in-Chief and Advisory Council
  2. The changes will be communicated publicly on journal website