IIT MADRAS TOP INDIAN UNIVERSITY IN QS RANKING
ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
India’s private educational institutes have put on an improved show in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject, but public-funded institutes remain significantly ahead — with IIT Madras, IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur featuring in the top 50.
Of the 10 private universities recognised as Institutes of Eminence by the Indian government, six made it to the rankings released on Thursday, with O.P. Jindal Global University (76th) the only such institution to figure in the top 100.
“A number of programmes at India’s privately-run prospective Institutions of Eminence have made progress this year, demonstrating the positive role that well-regulated private provision can have in enhancing India’s higher education sector,” said Ben Sowter, senior vice-president of professional services at QS.
Compiled by global higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the eleventh edition of the rankings provide an independent comparative analysis on the performance of 14,435 individual university programmes across 51 academic disciplines and five broad faculty areas.
This year, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras was ranked 30th for its petroleum engineering programme. IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur were ranked 41st and 44th for mineral and mining engineering. University of Delhi shared the 50th rank globally for development studies.
Among private institutions, while O.P. Jindal Global University entered the top 100 bracket for law, Birla Institute of Technology and Science featured in the 151-200 band for pharmacy and pharmacology. The pharmacy and pharmacology subject rankings also saw Jamia Hamdard in the 101-150 bracket, while Manipal Academy of Higher Education found itself in the 151-200 grouping. Vellore Institute of Technology broke into the top 300 for electrical and electronic engineering, in the 251300 band.
The number of Indian programmes across the 51 subject rankings has, however, dipped over last year — from 235 to 233. While 12 leading Indian varsities and higher education institutions figured in the top 100 positions, as many as 25 programmes — one fewer than in the previous edition — made it to the list
“One of the biggest challenges faced by India is educational: providing high-quality tertiary education in the face of exploding demand. This was recognised by last year’s National Education Policy, which set the ambitious target of 50 per cent gross enrolment ratio by 2035,” said Sowter.
The decrease in the number of Indian courses across the 51 subject rankings shouldn’t be a major concern, he added. “While this is a minor decrease, it is indicative of the fact that expanding provision in a way that does not sacrifice quality remains a highly challenging task.”
According to QS, India remains at the forefront of global environmental science research. Data from QS’S research partners at Elsevier showed that India ranks fifth in terms of its research footprint in this field — behind Germany, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Six Indian universities have featured in QS’S environmental sciences ranking, including IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur (151-200) and IIT Guwahati that has newly earned a ranking this year in the 201-250 band.