Background: Little is known regarding the research and training expectations faced by modern general surgery graduates interested in pursuing academic surgical careers. In this study, we describe the changing face of the Indian academic general surgeon by outlining the in-residency research productivity and post residency clinical and academic training trends over time. Methods: Our cross-sectional cohort included Indian academic general surgeons, defined as those with a university-affiliated appointment as assistant, associate or full professor. Data points included institution, faculty appointment and rank, graduation year, graduate education, fellowship training and research productivity. Results: Our cohort included 417 surgeons from 17 Indian academic institutions. The majority of surgeons were male (72.9%), had completed at least 1 fellowship (72.9%) and had had some form of supplementary research training (51.8%). Surgeons in the cohort had practised a median of 17 (10–27) years. The mean number of total and first-author publications for the participants in this study has increased consistently each decade before the 1980s (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The academic surgeon is becoming increasingly productive in research during residency and is pursuing higher levels of graduate education and more fellowships than ever before. These changes probably correspond to an evolving employment and research funding landscape that places tremendous academic pressure on surgical trainees.