Welcome to the new look of Indian Pediatrics. We hope that the outer shell is more pleasing to the eye and infuses a whiff of fresh air. The design has been the product of a cover design competition we had advertised in the journal during 2006. Dr. Rajendra R. Shinde's entry from Pune, Maharashtra was adjudged the best by a panel of jury from amongst fifty entries that we received. We have also changed the journal format in accordance with the international standards. Within, the change is more subtle and less striking. After getting included in Science Citation Index, our endeavor is to scale even greater heights at a gradual but steady pace (to enable acclimatization and easy breathing) and avoid altitude sickness and hypoxia (both for us as well for the readers)! Readers are central to all publications and in that sense IAP members and Indian Pediatrics are bonded together. However for a scientific journal which belongs to a society, it is an extremely arduous task to meet the requirements of readers from diverse backgrounds ranging from tertiary research centers to practitioners in remote areas. Editorial Board has been trying constantly to make the journal more acceptable to mainstream readers and at the same time maintain the high standard of scientific content and adhere to stringent peer review process. With your participation and feedback we hope to make Indian Pediatrics a reference model of how a scientific professional societal journal in this part of the world, should be. A tall aim! But together we can do it. We are eying the day when a fresh issue of Indian Pediatrics, upon its arrival shall occupy the place of pride on your reading table rather than decorating your office, languishing in the patient waiting area, or being consigned to the realms of dustbin.

After a gap of four years, we are also publishing a major modification of our ‘Author Information’ in this issue. These instructions are also available for download from our website. We are doing away with the distinction between Original Articles and Brief Reports; henceforth, all studies will be published as ‘Research Papers’ and ‘Short Communications’. ‘Research Papers’ will include randomized trials, intervention studies, and studies of screening and diagnostic tests, cohort studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, and case control studies. Brief accounts of descriptive studies, initial/partial results of a larger trial, and a series of cases will be considered as ‘Short Communications’. Hopefully, this will make life easier for the editors and authors alike! ‘Letters to Editor’ section is now being rechristened as "Correspondence". This section will now only consider letters commenting upon recent articles in Indian Pediatrics, other topic of interest to pediatricians, or useful clinical observations. Case reports or research material henceforth will not be published under ‘Correspondence’. A major criteria for acceptance of an article has always been addition to existing knowledge and as such manuscripts are now required to include 'what this study adds' instead of key messages earlier.

The limit on number of authorship in certain sections was introduced from January 2003, and followed earnestly. The policy resulted in criticism, long drawn correspondence between the Editor-in-chief and authors, and much heartburn. We conducted a short study to evaluate the outcome of this policy on authorship credits. Interestingly, the policy resulted in fewer authorship credits for senior authors, presumably due to a decline in gift authorship. We thus have decided to continue with this policy.

The journal format, contents, and editorial policy will continue to change dynamically keeping the needs of the pediatricians in this part of the world and the global advances in medical science. We invite you to become a part of this dynamic decision making process. Henry Ford said: "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success". We eagerly look forward to working together and your comments on the change.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous 2007.