The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay has once again claimed the top spot in India in the QS World University Rankings-Asia, and India has outperformed China in the number of ranked universities.
As per the latest rankings released on Wednesday, November 8, India now boasts the highest representation in the higher education system, with 148 universities featured, an increase of 37 from last year. Mainland China follows with 133, and Japan with 96. Notably, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Nepal have made their debut in the rankings.
In a repeat of last year's performance, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, Delhi University, and five Indian Institutes of Technology (Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur) have secured positions in the prestigious top 100 institutes in Asia, PTI reports.
Ben Sowter, Senior Vice-President at QS, stated, "The increasing visibility of Indian universities in the QS rankings reflects the dynamic expansion of India's higher education landscape.”
“While the significant growth in the number of Indian institutions and their research contributions marks a noteworthy development in the region's educational profile, it also illuminates the path ahead for India further to elevate its standing in the global academic community,” Sowter further said.
According to QS, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay retains its status as the premier institution in the country.
The top three national rankings remain consistent with the previous edition, with IIT Delhi and IIT Madras following suit.
"IIT Bombay leads nationally in both academic and employer reputation indicators, drawing on the expert opinions of 1,44,000 academics and employers. Impressively, it ranks within the top 20 Asian institutions for employer reputation," QS says in a statement.
Other Indian institutes making it to the top 100 in the QS Asia University Rankings 2024 include IIT Delhi (46), IIT Madras (53), Indian Institute of Science (58), IIT Kharagpur (59), IIT Kanpur (63), and University of Delhi (94).
While India falls below the regional average in academic reputation and employer reputation, it has achieved the second-best regional results in the papers per faculty metric among the higher education systems with more than 10 universities ranked.
India achieves its best average score for the staff with PhD indicator, signalling strong research output and a highly qualified faculty body, says QS. This performance shows the potential for Indian institutions to leverage their academic rigour and research capabilities to further enhance their global standing, it adds.
The statement further says, "India's performance in the international research network indicator, with a score of 15.4, falls slightly below the regional average of 18.8.”
This, QS says, is indicative of a broader pattern evident across all internationalisation indicators, where India appears to be striving to balance two ambitious goals: catering to the educational needs of its vast domestic student population and enhancing its appeal to international students.
“Achieving proficiency in both domains simultaneously presents a significant challenge, particularly at a pace that matches global trends,” it added.
According to QS, India's outbound student mobility marks a significant milestone, exceeding China's for the first time in 15 years with a notable increase in students pursuing education in the US, while concurrently, the country works to enhance its appeal to international students.
The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a UK-based company specialising in the analysis of higher education institutions around the world, ranked institutions on the basis of 10 indicators — academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, international relation network, citations per paper, paper per faculty, staff with PhD, international faculty, international students, and outbound exchange students.
According to the statement, Indian universities have demonstrated remarkable resilience in the QS Asian University Rankings with just over half of the ranked universities declining in position, 21 improving, 15 unchanged and 37 new entries.
"In fact, India takes the lion's share of the new entries, while Mainland China sees only seven new additions to its list of ranked institutions," it stated.
India produces an exceptional amount of research with seven of Asia's 10 best universities for papers per faculty being Indian, including both the region's most productive research institutions, Anna University in Tamil Nadu and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal.
"The QS Asian University Rankings for the 2024 edition reflect the rising prominence of India's higher education system. With steps being taken towards increased internationalisation, research output, and academic recognition, Indian universities are well-positioned for continued growth and achievement in the year ahead,” the statement added.
Overall, Peking University in China secured the top position in Asia, followed by the University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and Tsinghua University.
