No Indian Universities Feature Among Top 300 in ‘THE’ Rankings

For the first year since 2012, no Indian universities feature among the top 300.

Indian educational institutions have drawn a blank among the top 300 in World University Rankings 2020, compiled by UK-based Times Higher Education (THE).

India's top-ranked university, Bangalore's Indian Institute of Science (IISc), declined, marking the first time that India is not in top 300 since 2012. The table is once again topped by the UK's University of Oxford.

IISc still ranks the highest for India but has dropped into the 301-350 bracket (from 251-300 group), due to what has been described as a significant fall in its citation impact score offsetting improvements in research environment, teaching environment and industry income.

"India has a huge amount of potential in global higher education, given its rapidly growing youth population and economy and use of English-language instruction. However, it is disappointing to see the country fall out of the top 300 of the rankings this year, with only a small number of institutions registering progress,” said Ellie Bothwell, ‘THE' rankings editor.

Overall, 56 Indian universities feature in the table, up from 49 last year. As a result, India holds on to its place as the fifth most-represented nation in the world and the third most-represented in Asia, behind Japan and mainland China.

It has eight more universities than Germany, which is sixth in the country ranking, but 25 fewer than China.

Newcomer Indian Institute of Technology Ropar makes an impressive entry, pushing Indian Institute of Technology Indore, which remains in the 351-400 band, into third place.

Overall seven Indian universities fall into a lower band this year, while the bulk of the nation's institutions remain stable.

But there are a small number of risers, including Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and Jamia Millia Islamia.

The best Indian institutions are generally characterised by relatively strong scores for teaching environment and industry income, but perform poorly when it comes to international outlook in comparison to both regional and international counterparts, ‘THE' rankings notes.

While Oxford tops the global rankings for the fourth year running, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) rises from fifth to second.

The University of Cambridge, Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) all drop one place to third, fourth and fifth respectively, while Princeton University and Harvard University swap places to finish sixth and seventh respectively.

Yale University holds steady in eighth, the University of Chicago rises one place to ninth, while Imperial College London falls one place, rounding out the top 10.