IIT-D and IISc rank amongst the Top 200 Universities of the World – finally

New Delhi: The QS World University Rankings 2015 has brought a pleasant surprise for Indians. Two of the country’s premier institutes – Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru – broke the glass ceiling and have been ranked amongst the Top 200 Universities of the World.

IISc Bengaluru has been ranked at #147 while IIT Delhi has been ranked at #179. Last year, IIT Delhi had been ranked at #235.

14 Indian institutions have been ranked amongst the Top 400 Universities in the World. University of Delhi and University of Mumbai have suffered quite a setback in their rankings this year though.

President Pranab Mukherjee has sent a congratulatory note to IIS-B Director Anurag Kumar and IIT-D director Kshitij Gupta. He also said, “India has the best nascent talent in the world. Our institutions have the potential to be the best if they take the task of improving their quality in their own hands. Higher ranking not only motivates the education community but also sets standard for institutions for their development and opens new opportunities to their students to find better jobs.”

Ben Sowter, Head of Research at QS, told the media, “QS has evolved its methodology this year to be even-handed across various subject areas. Indian institutions have emerged as stronger in research in engineering, technology and natural universities. When compared to China, Indian universities lack proper funding and consistent policy leadership.”

The US had as many as 49 institutions in the Top 200 while the UK had 30. The Netherlands had 11 universities, and Germany had 11 institutions in the elite group. Canada, Australia and Japan had 8 each, China had 7, and France, Sweden and Hong Kong had 5 institutions each which ranked amongst World’s Top 200 Universities.