  Scientific collaboration at international level has increased manifolds
during last two decades. Collaboration is not only associated with higher
research productivity but has also been found to be positively correlated with
impact. Considering the benefits and advantages of international collaboration
for the national science and technology systems of a country, policymakers in
different countries have designed programs to promote international
collaboration in science. This paper attempts to measure and characterize the
international collaboration patterns in Indian scientific research. Research
publication data for the last 20 years (2001-2020), obtained from Web of
Science, is analysed for the purpose. Analytical results show that India's
international collaboration has grown at a rate of 12.27% during this period,
rising from only 20.73% internationally collaborated papers in 2001 to 32.35%
internationally collaborated papers in 2020. USA, Germany, England, South Korea
and China are found to be the top collaborating partners for India during his
period, however, some subject area-wise variations are also seen. Among the
internationally collaborated papers, about 50% papers have an Indian researcher
as lead (first) author, and more than 50% authors of such internationally
collaborated papers are from India. The internationally collaborated papers
from India are also found to have a slight advantage in terms of citation
impact and social media visibility. The probable factors shaping the Indian
international collaboration and the major policy implications are discussed.
