The Indian universities demonstrated the highest performance improvement among all the G20 nations this year, a significant 14 per cent year-on-year improvement in their average ranking, according to QS president Nunzio Quacquarelli.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was identified as the highest-ranked university in India in the coveted rankings announced by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the London-based higher education analytics firm. The university was ranked at 20th position globally for development studies.

The QS World University Rankings by Subject were announced earlier this month in which IIM-Ahmedabad figured among the top 25 institutions globally for business and management studies while IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Calcutta were among the top 50.

"This year, Indian universities demonstrated the highest performance improvement among all G20 nations (a significant 14 pc year-on-year improvement in their average ranking). In terms of research output, India has become one of the world's most rapidly expanding research centres," it said.

From 2017 to 2022, India's research output surged by an impressive 54 per cent, making it the world's fourth-largest producer of research, the QS president said.

"India now ranks prominently across in 44 out of the 55 QS Subject Rankings. Standout performances were noted in Computer Science, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Business Studies and Physics, among others.

"The Institutes of Eminence (IoE) contributed 47 of the 69 Indian university positions within the top 100 in any of the subject rankings. Across Asia, India now holds the second-highest number of featured universities in the QS Subject Rankings, behind China," he added.

The 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject provided independent comparative analysis on the performance of more than 16,400 individual university programmes, taken by students at more than 1,500 universities in 95 countries and territories, across 56 academic disciplines and five broad faculty areas (Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences).

The QS president said India's higher education progress on the global stage has undoubtedly been aided by visionary policies such as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

He recalled his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the two discussed discuss global higher education trends.

"During our engaging conversation, it was evident that PM Modi has a passionate commitment to revolutionise Indian education, reflected in the ambitious targets within the NEP. Our latest Subject Rankings show that these targets are beginning to manifest in the significant presence and enhanced performance of Indian universities: Our analysis covered over 1,500 universities in 96 countries, showcasing excellence in 55 academic subjects and five faculty areas," he added.

In the broader Asian regional context, India secured the second spot in terms of the number of universities featured (69), trailing only mainland China (101) and holds the fourth position in the total number of ranked entries (454) after China (1,041), Japan (510) and South Korea (499).

India ranks fifth regionally for the number of top 200 entries and sixth for the number of top 100 entries.

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