India fails to feature in the top 300 World University Rankings 2020 list

It's the 1st time since 2012 that India didn't feature in the list

India did not feature in the top 300 World University Rankings 2020 list by Times Higher Education (THE). In the past few years, India had been the fifth most-represented nation and this is the first time since 2012 that India dropped out of the top 300 list.

India’s best represented university — Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore — fell from the 251-300 cohort last year to the 301-350 bracket this time due to significant fall in its citation impact. However, it improved in research environment, teaching environment and industry income.  On the other hand, the upcoming Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar debuted in the ranking with a joint top position of 301-350 with IISc. 

Around seven Indian universities fell into a lower band this year, while the bulk of the nation’s institutions remained stable. However, there were a small number of risers, including IIT-Delhi, IIT-Kharagpur and Jamia Millia Islamia. 

Now in its 16th year, THE’s World University Rankings 2020 includes over 1,300 universities from 92 countries, making it the largest higher education analysis. 

Overall, 56 Indian universities featured in the table this year, up from 49 last year. As a result, India held on to its place as the fifth most-represented nation in the world and the third most-represented in Asia, after Japan and mainland China. With its debut directly as the joint top Indian institute in the 301-350 bracket, IIT-Ropar pushed IIT-Indore, which was ranked in the 351-400 band, into the third place. 

According to THE, 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.