Confident Indian Universities, agencies engaged in scientific research and development will soon reach top position: Mukherjee

Some of highlights of the report are:

• Indian Institutions have performed exceedingly well amongst the top 350 Universities from across 17 countries in the QS University Rankings Asia 2016. India has 5 institutions in the top 50 and 9 in the top 100. For the first time in the history of these rankings, all top 10 institutions from India have displayed a positive growth. 9 of these institutions are led by Hon’ble President as Visitor with the 10th, the University of Calcutta being his Alma Mater.

• In the BRICS Rankings 2016, India continues to hold its position in the top 10 with IISC at Rank No. 6. India has 8 institutions in the top 50 which is the same as Russia and one more than Brazil. From 31 institutions in the rankings last year, India today has 44 institutions in the top 250 of the QS BRICS Rankings 2016. The University of Delhi has taken a lead by rising from 46 last year to 41 this year.

• India is in the Top 10 Research Producing Nations Globally. In a decade and a half, India has produced over 1.4 million Research Papers attracting a massive 8.5 million Citations (7.4 citations per paper). During the same period, the Indian Scientific Community filed 4.6 Lakh Patent Applications. A total of 1,29,481 scientific papers were published by Indian authors in 2015.

Speaking on the occasion, the President recalled that while assuming the Office of President of India four years back, he had described education as the alchemy that can bring India its next golden age in his acceptance speech.

Mukherjee said in the last four years along with protecting, preserving and defending the Constitution, he has pursued improving the quality of higher education as a constant theme. 

As a former teacher, he was convinced that if India is to have a place on the high table of international community, it must achieve the highest possible position in the field of education. The physical infrastructure for higher education in India has increased considerably. However, the importance given to research in our universities is still inadequate.

The President said many universities were earlier doing well but not enough data was being provided to ranking agencies. This situation is now changing. Indian universities lag behind in exchange of faculty and students with foreign universities. The President pointed out that he has taken with him delegations of Vice Chancellors on almost all State visits. The academic interaction these Vice Chancellors have had with their counterparts was the most productive part of his visits.

The President concluded expressing happiness over the work being done to raise the standards of Indian universities.

He said he was confident many Indian institutions and agencies engaged in scientific research and development will soon reach the top position in the world.

He was looking forward to the day leaders of other countries watch with envy how India has reached the top in this regard.