Record 91 Indian universities in Times world rankings

Ninety-one Indian universities making it to the list this year is a significant increase from last year's 75 even though top Indian Institutes of Technology boycotted the rankings for the fourth consecutive year

New Delhi: A record 91 Indian universities have made it to the World University Rankings announced by the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine, with the top performing Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, returning to the global 250 for the first time since 2017.

Ninety-one Indian universities making it to the list this year is a significant increase from last year’s 75 even though top Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) boycotted the rankings for the fourth consecutive year.

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India has also become the fourth best represented nation in the 2024 rankings, up from the sixth last year.

According to the rankings announced by the London-based THE magazine on Wednesday, the second best performing universities in India are: Anna University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Mahatma Gandhi University, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences. The are all in the 501-600 band.

Two IITs — the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati and Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad — moved up two bands to join the world’s top 800 universities, from 1001-1200 to 601-800.

While Anna University in Chennai moved up from 801-1000 band last year to the 501-600 band, Aligarh Muslim University moved up from the 801-1000 band last year to the 601-800.

The Bharathiar University in Coimbatore moved up from the 801-1000 band last year to the 601-800 band, while Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur has entered the ranking for the first time, breaking into the 601-800 band.

Seven IITs — Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, and Roorkee — opted out of THE World University Rankings in 2020, casting doubt on the rankings’ transparency and standards. IIT Guwahati reentered the rankings last year.