iThenticate vs Drillbit: Which Plagiarism Checker Do Indian Universities Use? (2026)

You’ve spent years on your PhD thesis. Now your supervisor hands you a form asking for a plagiarism report — and you’re not sure which tool your university actually uses, or why it matters. Both iThenticate and Drillbit are UGC-recognised plagiarism detection tools, but they serve very different institutional contexts. The differences in database scope, report format, mandating institutions, and access model are real and worth understanding. This article gives Indian PhD scholars a clear, university-by-university breakdown.

What Is iThenticate?

iThenticate is a professional-grade plagiarism detection tool owned by Turnitin, the global leader in academic integrity software. Unlike Turnitin’s student-facing classroom product, iThenticate is built specifically for researchers, journal publishers, and institutions handling advanced research output — PhD theses, research papers, and grant applications.

The tool compares submitted documents against one of the largest academic content databases available. Its coverage includes:

• Published journal articles from major global publishers (Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, Nature, IEEE)
• Conference papers and preprints from repositories such as arXiv, bioRxiv, and SSRN
• Web content, news archives, and publicly accessible institutional repositories
• Theses from institutional repositories linked to the Turnitin global network

For Indian researchers specifically, iThenticate is the tool powering Shodhganga — the national repository of Indian PhD theses and dissertations managed by INFLIBNET (Information and Library Network Centre). Every thesis submitted to Shodhganga undergoes iThenticate screening before it is archived in the national repository.

The iThenticate similarity report does not use the colour-banded “similarity wheel” familiar from the student version of Turnitin. Instead, it displays a percentage similarity score with matched source passages highlighted and linked to their origin documents. The UGC accepts iThenticate reports as valid documentation under the UGC (Prevention of Plagiarism) Regulations 2018.

Access to iThenticate is typically through an institutional subscription. Most centrally funded universities route all submissions through the library or research office — scholars hand their document to a designated contact, who runs the check and returns the official PDF report.

What Is Drillbit?

Drillbit is an Indian-origin plagiarism detection software developed by Areteans Technology Solutions, a Bengaluru-based company. It was purpose-built for the Indian academic market — and its database reflects that focus in ways that matter for scholars whose research intersects heavily with Indian institutional or regional content.

Drillbit’s database covers a distinct set of sources:

• Indian university theses and dissertations from institutions across India
• Indian journal articles and conference proceedings from national publishers and academic bodies
• Regional language content — a significant differentiator for researchers writing in languages other than English
• Web content and publicly accessible institutional repositories

Drillbit is officially recognised by the University Grants Commission as a valid plagiarism detection tool for thesis submissions. This recognition makes it a fully legitimate option for institutions complying with the 2018 regulations — not a workaround, and not a lower-tier alternative to iThenticate.

The Drillbit report uses a colour-coded similarity breakdown similar to Turnitin’s familiar banding system: green, yellow, orange, and red bands indicate increasing levels of textual overlap. This makes results easier to interpret for supervisors and examiners already accustomed to reading Turnitin reports.

A practical advantage at many Drillbit-mandating universities is that students receive direct portal access. Rather than routing every check through a library contact, scholars can log in, upload a chapter, and see a preliminary report within minutes — making iterative revision considerably faster.

Key Differences: iThenticate vs Drillbit

The table below covers the dimensions that matter most for an Indian PhD scholar — whether you’re trying to understand which report your institution accepts, or why your university chose one tool over the other.

Dimension	iThenticate	Drillbit
Ownership	Turnitin (global company)	Areteans Technology Solutions (Indian company)
Database focus	International academic publishing, global journals, preprints	Indian university content, national journals, regional language sources
Indian content coverage	Shodhganga theses; international Indian journal content	Broad Indian university and regional content; stronger on vernacular sources
Report format	Percentage similarity; highlighted source matches; no colour bands	Percentage similarity; colour-coded banding (green–red scale)
Accepted by	IITs, NITs, central universities, AIIMS, Shodhganga/INFLIBNET, IIMs	VTU, Anna University affiliates, Osmania University, many private colleges
Student access	Typically through library or research office	Often via institution-managed student portal
UGC recognition	Yes	Yes
Cost to institution	Higher (global licensing)	Lower (Indian market pricing)

The most consequential difference for Indian PhD scholars is database composition. iThenticate’s strength lies in its coverage of international academic publishing — if your research engages with global literature from major publishers, iThenticate surfaces more cross-matches from those sources. Drillbit’s strength is its depth of Indian institutional content. If your field has a large body of Indian theses, regional conference proceedings, or vernacular publications, Drillbit may catch overlaps that iThenticate misses entirely.

The second key difference is the access model. Most IITs and central universities route iThenticate submissions through the library — scholars don’t interact with the tool directly. At many Drillbit institutions, the process is student-driven: log in, upload, receive a report. Neither model is inherently superior; they reflect different institutional approaches to research workflow and infrastructure investment.

Which Indian Universities Use iThenticate and Which Use Drillbit?

Under the UGC (Prevention of Plagiarism) Regulations 2018, every Indian university must screen all research theses for plagiarism before submission and degree award. The regulations define similarity thresholds but do not mandate a single tool — each university selects any software from the UGC-recognised list.

Institutions that predominantly mandate iThenticate include:

• IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) — all IIT campuses use iThenticate as the standard tool for PhD thesis screening
• NITs (National Institutes of Technology) — most NITs align with the centrally funded research infrastructure
• AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) — medical and biomedical research theses are processed through iThenticate
• Major central universities — University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), and University of Hyderabad
• IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) — doctoral dissertations are submitted via iThenticate
• Shodhganga-affiliated institutions — INFLIBNET uses iThenticate for all theses submitted to the national repository

Institutions that predominantly mandate or accept Drillbit include:

• VTU (Visvesvaraya Technological University, Karnataka) — one of India’s largest technical universities; uses Drillbit across its affiliated college network
• Anna University, Tamil Nadu — and its extensive network of affiliated engineering and science colleges
• Osmania University, Telangana
• Bangalore University, Karnataka
• Many private engineering, arts, and management colleges affiliated with state technical or general universities

Some institutions run Drillbit for preliminary departmental checks and iThenticate for the final official submission — a researcher at one of these institutions may encounter both tools across the thesis journey. Always verify with your institution’s current thesis submission guidelines, not your supervisor’s recollection and not a form that circulated among your batch two years ago.

The UGC periodically updates its recognised-tool list, and universities revise internal policies independently. The only authoritative source is your institution’s official research or graduate school webpage.

How to Obtain an iThenticate or Drillbit Report

The specific process depends on your institution’s system. Here are the standard pathways for each tool.

For an iThenticate Report

Start with your library or research cell. Most universities with an iThenticate subscription process all submissions through a designated library contact or research coordinator. Don’t look for a direct channel — go through your institution’s official route. For a detailed breakdown of what the report sections mean, see the iThenticate report format guide.

Check whether your institution is Shodhganga-affiliated. If it is, your iThenticate report may be generated automatically as part of the Shodhganga submission workflow. Ask your supervisor or the graduate school office for the correct procedure — do not assume the steps are the same as a non-Shodhganga institution, because in our experience that assumption causes delays.

If your institution lacks a direct subscription, some licensed service providers facilitate iThenticate submissions for individuals. Your department or library will usually maintain a list of approved providers. Never submit through an unlicensed third party — your institution may reject the resulting report as invalid.

For a Drillbit Report

Check for a student portal first. Many Drillbit-mandating universities — including VTU and Anna University-affiliated colleges — provide institution-managed portals where students submit documents directly. Your university’s research cell or department coordinator will have login instructions. For details on interpreting the colour-coded output, see the Drillbit report format guide.

If no portal is available, contact your research coordinator or supervisor. Some departments handle Drillbit submissions centrally on behalf of scholars.

Always save the official PDF and the signed certificate. Most Drillbit-mandating universities require both the similarity report and a Drillbit-issued certificate for final thesis submission. Download both from the portal — or request both from your coordinator — well before the deadline. Last-minute certificate requests are a common bottleneck; do the needful early.

In every case, your university’s official thesis submission guidelines are the authoritative source. Download the current version from the official website, not printed handouts or student-to-student copies that may be a revision behind.

Key Takeaways

• Both tools are UGC-recognised — the choice between iThenticate and Drillbit is made by your institution, not by the UGC. Neither is universally superior.
• iThenticate is mandated by IITs, NITs, central universities, AIIMS, and Shodhganga; it is stronger on international academic content and global journal databases.
• Drillbit is mandated by VTU, Anna University affiliates, and many state and private institutions; it is stronger on Indian university content, regional language sources, and often provides direct student portal access.
• UGC Regulations 2018 set the thresholds — Level 0 (0–10%): acceptable; Level 1 (10–40%): minor concern; Level 2 (40–60%): major concern; Level 3 (above 60%): punitive action — but which tool generates the report is determined entirely by your institution.
• Always verify directly — university tool policies change. Check your institution’s current thesis submission guidelines before submitting any document.

Conclusion

The decision between iThenticate and Drillbit is not yours to make — your institution makes it for you. What you can control is whether you understand what the tool’s output actually means, how to access it through the correct institutional channel, and how your similarity score will be read under the UGC (Prevention of Plagiarism) Regulations 2018. The first step is straightforward: visit your university’s official research or graduate school webpage and download the current thesis submission guidelines. That document will tell you which tool is mandated, who to contact, and what paperwork is required for iThenticate vs Drillbit Indian universities — everything else follows from there.