The Times Higher Education (THE) magazine, on Wednesday, has revealed the World University Rankings, which include 91 Indian universities for the first time ever. The highest-performing Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, has returned to the top 250 rankings for the first time since 2017. Even though the top Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) boycotted the rankings for the fourth consecutive year, there are 91 Indian universities on the list, a considerable rise from the 75 that were included last year. India has also moved up from sixth place last year to fourth place in the rankings for 2024.
According to the rankings released by the London-based THE magazine, the second best performing universities in India are: Anna University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Mahatma Gandhi University, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences. They are all in the range of 501 to 600.
Two IITs -- the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati and the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) in Dhanbad moved up two bands, from 1001-1200 to 601-800, to join the top 800 universities in the world.
Aligarh Muslim University moved up from the 801-1000 band last year to the 601-800 band, while Anna University in Chennai moved up from the 801-1000 band to the 501-600 band.
Bharathiar University in Coimbatore moved up to the 601-800 band from 801-1000 band last year, while Jaipur's Malaviya National Institute of Technology has entered the rankings for the first time, entering the 601-800 band.
Seven IITs – Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee – opted out of THE World University Rankings in 2020, raising doubts over the transparency and standards of the ranking. IIT Guwahati re-entered the rankings last year.
In the 20th year of the ranking, 1,904 universities from 108 countries and regions – up from 1,799 the previous year – were ranked. The World University Rankings 2024 evaluated universities based on 18 indicators covering their core missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfer and internationalisation.
The indicators were divided into five pillars – teaching, research quality, research environment, international outlook and industry. Of the five new metrics, three look at research quality and one examines patents.
"India has well and truly embraced the international agenda, and international competition, with an unprecedented 91 universities making it into the rigorous and demanding Times Higher Education World University Rankings this year – making India now the fourth best represented nation in the rankings," said Phil Baty, THE's Chief Global Affairs Officer.
"Although methodological changes this year have not been kind to some Indian institutions, the overall picture remains positive – with a rise into the top 250 for IISc and several other rising institutions," he said.
The UK's University of Oxford is the highest ranked university in the world with Stanford University taking the second place, making it the US's top-ranked. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is at the third place.
As many as 165 universities are ranked for the first time, 89 of which are from Asia with one newly ranked university from mainland China.
Mainland China has the best ranked universities, overall, in Asia. This year an unprecedented 33 Asian universities are in the top 200, up from 28 last year. The biggest drivers for this jump are China (from 11 to 13) and Japan (from 2 to 5).
(With PTI Inputs)
