New Delhi: At least 69 Indian universities have featured in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings released on Wednesday by subject, with Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) becoming India's highest-ranked university. JNU is in the 20th spot globally for developmental studies, while the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad is among the top 25 institutions across the world in business and management studies.
While IIM Ahmedabad is in the top 25 list, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta feature in the top 50 list, announced QS, the London-based higher education analytics firm. The Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences in Chennai is in the 24th position globally for dentistry studies. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has performed well in Data Science, securing a global ranking of 51-70, and in Petroleum Engineering, where it ranks 51-100 globally.
A total of 69 Indian universities with 424 entries have made it to the QS World University Rankings by subject. Last year, 66 universities out of 355 entries made it to the list. India's ranked entries and overall performance have increased by 19 per cent and 17 per cent respectively by subject. India has also demonstrated a strong 20 per cent improvement in the Citations per Paper indicator, reflecting a strong research capability.
One of the world's most rapidly expanding research centres
India also showed a 16 per cent growth in the International Research Network indicator, which measures the volume and diversity of research partnerships. According to QS, India stands as one of the world's most rapidly expanding research centres. The firm noted the positive role of well-regulated private provision in India's higher education sector and said the country is taking significant steps in the "right direction".
"One of the biggest challenges faced by India is educational -- providing high-quality tertiary education in the face of exploding demand: this much was recognised by 2020's NEP (National Education Policy), which set the ambitious target of a 50 per cent gross enrolment ratio by 2035. It should, therefore, provide some reassurance that the number of Indian programmes featuring across our 55 subject rankings and five broad faculty areas has increased this year -- from 355 to 454," said QS CEO Jessica Turner.
From 2017 to 2022, India's research output surged by an impressive 54 per cent, based on data from Scopus/Elsevier, QS' bibliometric and research affiliate. This increase is not only more than double the global average but also significantly exceeds the output of its more traditionally recognised Western peers.
A 'formidable player' in the international academic community
"In terms of volume, India is now the world's fourth-largest producer of research, generating 1.3 million academic papers in this period, trailing only behind China's 4.5 million, the United States' 4.4 million, and slightly less than the United Kingdom's 1.4 million," said Ben Sowter, QS' senior vice-president.
Sowter said that India is on the brink of overtaking the UK in terms of research productivity and ranks ninth globally during 2017-22 in terms of research impact measured by citation count. "Despite facing challenges such as enhancing research standards, educating the world's largest school-age population, growing the economy and the labour market to match the rapidly increasing number of job seekers while securing a position of global competitiveness, India is undeniably becoming a formidable player the international academic community," he added.
In the broader Asian regional context, India secured the second spot in terms of the number of universities featured (69), trailing only mainland China (101), and holds the fourth position in the total number of ranked entries (454) after China (1,041), Japan (510) and South Korea (499). India ranks fifth regionally for the number of top 200 entries and sixth for the number of top 100 entries.
About QS World University Rankings
The 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject provide an independent comparative analysis of the performance of more than 16,400 individual university programmes, taken by students at more than 1,500 universities in 95 countries and territories, across 56 academic disciplines and five broad faculty areas (Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences).
QS uses five key metrics to compile the subject rankings. The precise weighting of each metric varies by subject to reflect differing publication cultures across disciplines. The rankings comprise a record 1,559 institutions, welcoming 64 institutions for the first time.
(with inputs from agencies)
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