London, 27 November 2019: India boasts eight universities among the top 100 in Asia as QS World University Rankings: Asia 2020 report released today. The best performing institution is the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) which drops one place to the 34th position. The top national general university in this table, the University of Delhi, is down five places from last year, and now places 67th regionally.

India has 96 universities ranked, including 20 brand new entries. Only Mainland China is more represented than India, with 118 featured universities, including four in the top-10 this year, showing remarkably rapid progress.

Until five years ago, there was only one institution from Mainland China in the very top echelon. By contrast, India does not yet have a university among the top 30.

The latest edition of an authoritative guide to the performance of Asian universities, the QS World University Rankings: Asia features the continent’s five hundred fifty best institutions, according to a bespoke eleven-metric methodology.

India has embraced rankings more recently than most of its regional counterparts, and in this fierce and relentlessly competitive regional landscape, it boasts eight universities among the top 100.

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) leads nationally, and it is followed by Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) in the 43rd place and by Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) in the 50th position. The contributory dataset of this ranking includes the world’s most extensive surveys of global academic and employer opinion regarding university quality, accounting for the views of over 90,000 academic faculty and leaders, and over 44,000 hiring managers. For the second consecutive year, the National University of Singapore is named Asia’s best university. It is followed by Nanyang Technological University, which has risen from 3rd to 2nd; and the University of Hong Kong.

Key Highlights of India

There are 96 Indian universities featured in this table, including 31 among the top 250.

Of these, 18 dropped compared to last year, 12 gained ground and one remained stable.

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) is the best national universities in the Academic Reputation indicator, which utilizes the insights of over 94,000 academics regarding university quality. It ranks 32nd regionally in this dimension. The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) (34th) and the University of Delhi (50th) are the next best.

In the Employer Reputation indicator, which utilizes the insights of over 44,000 employers regarding the quality of a university’s graduates, IITB ranks 21st regionally. There are other four local universities among the top 50 (IITD, IITM, University of Delhi and IITKGP).

India dominates the Staff with PhD indicator with seven institutions achieving the perfect 100.00 score and raking No 1= tied in this metric (IITM, IITKGP, IITK, IIT BBS, IIT Indore, IIT Patna, IIT Ropar).

In the research indicators, India boasts five universities among the top 50 in the Citations per Paper metric, and six among the top 50 in the Papers per Faculty metric.

QS World University Rankings: Asia 2020 ( Indian Universities in Top 200)

Ben Sowter, Director of Research at QS, said: “The Indian higher education system has grown exponentially over the past decade. The number of universities has nearly doubled, and the number of colleges has grown by 50 per cent. The sheer scale of this development is awe-inspiring. Nevertheless, the domestic demand for tertiary education of its young population – which is estimated to become the world’s largest by 2030 – is growing more rapidly than the expanded provision.

 India’s higher education system plays a vital role in driving the nation’s competitiveness. It has produced some of the world’s best talent, including the CEOs of some of the world’s largest and most influential companies. This edition of the QS World University Rankings: Asia reflects the growth of the higher education sector in India with a broader representation of Indian universities. However, it also shows that that sustained investment in research funding, teaching, and internationalization is paramount to enhance India’s competitive edge.”