In the recently announced World University Rankings 2024 by the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine on Wednesday, an impressive total of 91 Indian universities have clinched positions, surpassing the previous year's tally of 75.
Notably, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore stands out as the leading Indian university in these rankings, securing the top position for the first time since 2017.
However, the top Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) have continued their boycott of the rankings for the fourth consecutive year.
India has also become the fourth most well-represented nation in the 2024 rankings, moving up from sixth place last year.
As per the latest rankings released by THE magazine, the second-best performing Indian universities in this list include Anna University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Mahatma Gandhi University, and Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences.
All these universities fall within the 501-600 band.
The universities that follow are Alagappa University, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Bharathiar University, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad.
The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has once again secured the top position in the rankings for the eighth consecutive year. The top 10 also includes American universities alongside those from the UK.
In November 2004, The Times Higher Education Supplement, in collaboration with Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), released the first edition of the World University Rankings, assessing 200 universities.
The methodology at the time relied on a mere five performance indicators, including the staff-to-student ratio, the academic reputation based on a survey, research paper citations, the presence of international staff on campus, and the proportion of international students.