As per the UGC Regulations 2018 on plagiarism, a faculty member will invite the penalty of denial of one annual increment if, in the submission of a research publication, he or she commits plagiarism of which level?

Denial of one annual increment is the penalty prescribed for Level 2 plagiarism in a research publication.

Level 0 attracts no penalty, so the answer cannot be that level.

Level 1 draws a milder response, requiring withdrawal of the manuscript.

Level 3, the gravest band, attracts denial of two successive annual increments.

Level 2 also bars the faculty member from supervising new scholars for two years.

These levels correspond to rising bands of textual similarity under the 2018 rules.