Why is India not among the Top 200 world university QS rankings?

India not among the Top world university rankings

India still does not feature in the the Top 200 world universities in the new QS rankings. Similar to last year's rankings the top placed Indian institution is 222nd in the world. This year the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has overtaken the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT - D) for the first time.

IIT Delhi has been leading in India throughout the first 10 editions of the QS rankings but this year has slipped to 235. IIT-B has moved up from 233rd to 222nd and IIT Delhi has slipped from 222nd to 235th. IIT Bombay has done better in the 'Employer Survey' component while IIT Delhi's performance has dropped. This means IIT Bombay is receiving a better score or more responses in the 'Employer Survey' than IIT Delhi.

"It's time Indian universities embraced global rankings and put their best foot forward," says Dr Karthick Sridhar, vice chairman, Indian Centre for Assessment & Accreditation.

With the increasing globalisation of higher education, the Indian universities need to compete to attract best students and best qualified faculty from across the world, he adds.

Students use these rankings as on the criteria to decide their study destinations.

The parameters where Indian universities are marked weak in comparison to their global peers are the quantity and quality of research, surveys of academic peers and employers and internationalisation. These parameters have to be addressed through reorientation of institutional priorities, by focusing on deployment of human and financial resources, enhancement of global reputation and academic excellence and reforming higher education policy reforms, says Dr Sridhar.

"Indian institutions are engaging with ranking agencies more than ever before and this has started bearing fruit. There are more Indian universities in the QS rankings than any other international comparisons," a release said.

A total of 31 countries are represented in the Top 200. The US remains the dominant nation with 51 institutions, 11 of which are in the Top 20. The US also dominates also for research impact with seven of the 10 top spots in the citations per faculty indicator.