16 Indian institutes among top 200 in new BRICS ranking; IISc, IIT-Bombay lead the pack

Indian Institute of Technology

Sonipat: With 16 institutes among the top 200 places for higher education, India is placed third on the latest list of Times Higher Education BRICS and Emerging Economies Rankings, after China and Taiwan.

While Indian Institute of Science (IISc), at Bengaluru, ranked 16, made its debut among the top 20 in this year's list, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, one of India's most prestigious universities, missed out on the list.

IISc at Bengaluru, was followed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay which was ranked 29th in the list released on Thursday at the Times Higher Education BRICS and Emerging Economies Universities Summit held at OP Jindal Global University here.

With half of the top spots in the top 10 institutes and a total of 39 institutions in the top 200, China is far ahead of other BRICS and emerging nations, the rankings revealed. Taiwan has a total of 24 institutes in the top 200 list.

"It is good news for India that 16 of its institutions feature in this year's list of the best universities in the BRICS nations and emerging economies," Phil Baty, editor, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said at the event.

"However, India will have to work harder to compete with other developing nations, such as Russia, which have a higher proportion of institutions in the upper echelons of the table. India is the only BRICS nation without a university in the top 10," he said.

Of the 16 Indian institutes in the list, seven were IITs.

Naveen Jindal, founding chancellor of OP Jindal Global University, said: "The need of the hour today is to determine that higher education and its best results accrue to every citizen who aspires for a better and fuller life.

"I am happy that the Times Higher Education Rankings for BRICS and Emerging Economies, which are for the first time being declared and announced from India, will prove to be a boost for our education system and act as a catalyst for policy makers to engender positive and meaningful change in this neglected area."

The International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd) of OP Jindal Global University has partnered with Times Higher Education for the BRICS and Emerging Economies Summit.

On the partnership, C Raj Kumar, founding vice chancellor of OP Jindal Global University, said: "I am happy to see Indian universities gain strength in the 2016 rankings.

"There is immense need for the Indian higher education institutes to develop and strengthen international collaborations and acquire a global orientation as traditionally they have been inward looking and shrug off global competitiveness."

"Rankings are not the end but a means to start deliberations for a road map for becoming globally competitive and more accountable," Raj Kumar said.

The 16 Indian institutes that featured among the top 200 in the Times Higher Education BRICS and Emerging Economies Ranking are:

Rank - Institutes

16 IISc

29 IIT-Bombay

36 IIT-Madras

37 IIT-Delhi

45 IIT-Kharagpur

48 IIT-Roorkee

80 Jadavpur University

83 IIT-Guwahati

95 IIT-Kanpur

121 Panjab University

127 Savitribai Phule Pune University

137 University of Calcutta

150 Aligarh Muslim University

154 University of Delhi

181 Amrita University

193 Andhra University