9 Indian institutions in Times' top 100 Asian University Ranking

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru is number one in India and held the 37th position globally while last year's leader, Panjab University, is at the 38th position

Only nine Indian universities have made it to the Top 100 of the Asia University Ranking 2015 by Times Higher Education.

Last year, it had 10 institutes. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru is the number one in India and held the 37th position globally while last year's leader, Panjab University, is at the 38th position.

Five Indian institutes of technology, led by IIT-Roorkee (joint 55th), and followed by IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Madras, have also found mention among the top hundred, along with Aligarh Muslim University (90th) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (96th).

Phil Baty, editor, Times Higher Education Ranking, said it was a cause for concern that India had lost ground in the league table. It has one fewer representative this year and most of those that made it have fallen down the list.

Baty added though it has two fresh entries, including a new number one university, it is worrying that three representatives that comfortably made the top 100 last year - the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and Jadavpur University - have exited the ranking altogether this time.

"With the country's massive numbers of under-25s putting further pressure on educational resources, it is more crucial than ever that India invests in research and strengthens its academic links with other nations - or face being left behind," said Baty.

University of Tokyo, Japan, topped the list, followed by National University of Singapore and University of Hong Kong.

This year's tables reveal that China has overtaken Japan as the continent's higher education powerhouse. Although the latter still boasts the region's number one institution, the University of Tokyo, many of its representatives have lost ground; to make matters worse, its ranks are thinning, with 19 universities in the list, down from 20 last year and 22 in 2013.