News Excerpt: 

JNU is best for development studies in India while IIM-Ahmedabad tops for management in recently released QS World University Rankings.

More About the News: 

• According to the recent QS Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Subject, IIM-Ahmedabad ranks among the top 25 institutions globally for business and management studies, while IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Calcutta are within the top 50. 
• Jawaharlal Nehru University leads among Indian universities, securing the 20th position globally for development studies, and the Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences in Chennai holds the 24th position globally for dentistry studies. 
• The latter notably achieves a perfect score (100/100) in the QS indicator, the H Index, ranking first in this metric within the Dentistry table among Indian universities.
• In the 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject, sixty-nine Indian universities have earned spots, marking a 19.4 percent increase from the previous year's 355 entries. Notably, 72 percent of the Indian entries this year have either debuted, shown improvement, or maintained their positions, while only 18 percent experienced a decline, showcasing an impressive 17 percent year-on-year improvement for India. 
• The rankings, compiled by global higher education experts QS Quacquarelli Symonds, highlight the remarkable performance of Indian universities. Among these, the 12 Institutes of Eminence (IoE), though representing a small fraction of Indian universities, contribute significantly, accounting for 40 percent of the country's total entries, totaling 180.
• Additionally, the IoE leads with 47 of the 69 top-100 Indian positions and 14 of the 21 positions across 55 academic disciplines and five faculty areas in this edition of the rankings. 
• The University of Delhi emerges as the most represented Indian institution in the rankings with 30 entries, followed closely by IIT Bombay with 28 entries and IIT Kharagpur with 27 entries. 
• Noteworthy improvements are seen at IIT Madras with 22 entries, where eight have improved, six declined, and four remained unchanged. Similarly, IIT Delhi secured 19 entries, with 11 showing improvement, three declining, and three remaining unchanged.

Significance of Rankings:  

• The number of Indian programs featured across various subject rankings and faculty areas has increased from 355 to 454, demonstrating improvement.
• The progress made by several programs at India's privately-run Institutes of Eminence, indicating the positive impact of well-regulated private provision on higher education. Despite the need for further improvements in standards, access to education, digital readiness, and global competitiveness, India is moving in the right direction.
• This year's rankings show India's significant progress, with a 20 percent improvement in the Citations per Paper indicator, reflecting strong research capability.
• There's also a 16 percent growth in the International Research Network indicator, measuring research partnerships. However, there's a 5 percent decrease in the H Index, which assesses research productivity and impact balance.
• India has emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing research centers, with a 54 percent surge in research output from 2017 to 2022, surpassing the global average and outpacing Western peers. 
• While India ranks fourth globally in research volume, it ranks ninth in research impact, indicating the need for prioritizing high-quality, impactful research dissemination.

Conclusion:

Despite challenges, India is becoming a formidable player in the international academic community. In the broader Asian context, India ranks second in featured universities, trailing only mainland China, and ranks fourth in total ranked entries after China, Japan, and South Korea.