The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) leads among Indian institutions, securing the 20th position globally for development studies courses in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, announced on Wednesday.
The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad), secured the 22nd position globally for business and management studies, followed by IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, ranked 32nd and 50th, respectively.
IIT Delhi has secured the 45th position among the top 50 global institutions. Similarly, IIT Bombay has advanced two places from its 2023 ranking to claim the 45th spot in Engineering and Technology. Additionally, IIT Bombay ranks 25th in engineering minerals and mines, while IIT Madras secured the 29th rank in petroleum engineering. In total, 12 Indian HEIs feature in the top 100, and 69 HEIs from India are ranked in 44 out of 55 subjects.
The Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences in Chennai holds the 24th spot internationally for dentistry studies.
According to Jessica Turner, CEO of QS, India faces a significant educational challenge in providing high-quality tertiary education amid increasing demand, as recognised by the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020. However, there is optimism as the number of Indian programs featured in QS rankings increased from 355 to 454 this year.
Mr Turner also noted the progress made by several programs at India's three privately-run Institutes of Eminence, highlighting the positive role of well-regulated private provision in enhancing India's higher education sector. While acknowledging the need for improvement in standards, access to higher education, universities' digital readiness, and global competitiveness, he emphasised that India is taking significant steps in the right direction.
India has made remarkable progress in this year's subject rankings, demonstrating a robust research capacity with a notable 20 per cent enhancement in the Citations per Paper metric, indicating strong research output.
Additionally, there has been a 16 per cent increase in the International Research Network index, reflecting the extent and diversity of research collaborations.
However, there was a slight decline of 5 per cent in the H Index, which evaluates the balance between research productivity and its impact.
According to QS, India emerges as one of the world's fastest-growing hubs for research. Between 2017 and 2022, its research output surged by an impressive 54 per cent, surpassing the global average and outperforming its more traditionally recognised Western counterparts.