Six Indian institutions feature in Asia’s top 100 QS rankings
New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have featured among Asia’s top 100 universities, even as all six slipped several places from last year, according to the QS Rankings announced on Tuesday.
India remained Asia’s second most-represented higher education system, with 325 ranked universities, including 34 new entrants, behind only Mainland China.
According to London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), IIT Delhi remained India’s highest-ranked institution, placing 66th in Asia despite a year-on-year decline. All six of India’s top-ranked institutions dropped in the rankings.
IIT Delhi, ranked 59th last year, slipped to 66th, while IISc Bengaluru fell from 64th to 79th. IIT Bombay dropped from 71st to 83rd, IIT Madras from 70th to 85th, IIT Kharagpur from 77th to 90th, and IIT Kanpur from 77th to 97th.
“India has built remarkable research capacity. Its universities lead Asia for the number of institutions in the top 10 for Papers per Faculty, and 15 share first place for staff with PhD. The challenge now is to translate this strength more consistently into research impact and international recognition.
“Although several leading institutions have fallen in this year’s rankings as competition grows across Asia, India has a strong foundation on which to build. Continued investment in research quality, international partnerships and global visibility will help sustain its progress,” said QS Senior Vice-President Ben Sowter.
The University of Delhi also slipped out of the top 100, falling from 95th to 106th. Chandigarh University, Lovely Professional University and Jamia Millia Islamia were among the Indian institutions that improved their positions.
India also increased its representation in the top 200, with 21 institutions, up from 20 last year and 17 in 2018.
According to QS, India leads Asia in the number of universities excelling in research output per faculty member, with 27 institutions in the regional top 50 for Papers per Faculty and five in the top 10 — more than any other higher education system.
“Exceptional doctoral capacity underpins this performance, with 15 Indian universities sharing first place for staff with PhD, more than double the total of the next strongest-performing system,” QS said in a statement.
“Employer Reputation remains a relative strength, with IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi placing seventh and 10th, respectively — the first Indian universities in Asia’s top 10 — though employer recognition remains concentrated among a small number of institutions despite the scale of India’s labour market,” it added.