Asia University Rankings 2025, published by Times Higher Education (THE) on April 23, ranked the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) the top Indian university, ranking it 38th among 853 universities from 35 countries and territories. Although this is a continuation of IISc’s academic leadership tradition, the 2025 rankings show a decline in rankings for many Indian universities from last year.
The Asia University Rankings 2025 rate universities on the most important performance criteria of teaching, research quality, international outlook, industry income, and research environment. IISc’s ranking at 38, while a distinguished feat, is a fall from its rank of 32 in the 2024 rankings. This fall is reflective of larger trends in Indian higher education institutions, which are experiencing growing regional competition.
Other Indian institutions in the Asia University Rankings 2025 are Anna University at 111, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore at 131, Mahatma Gandhi University at 140, and Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences at 146. Although these are India’s diversified academic landscape, each of them has experienced minute rank reductions from last year. For example, Anna University and Mahatma Gandhi University, which were ranked 119 and 134 respectively in 2024, stand at 111 and 140 now.
Also in the Asia University Rankings 2025 top 200 are Jamia Millia Islamia (161), Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (184), KIIT University (184), Aligarh Muslim University (188), UPES (188), Indian Institute of Technology Patna (191), National Institute of Technology Rourkela (191), and International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (200). Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences also performed well at 149, demonstrating the increasing power of specialist medical colleges in the nation.
Asia University Rankings 2025: How do Indian institutions reinforce their global competitiveness in the face of falling ranks?
The new edition of the rankings presents an opportunity for deeper reflection. With top challengers from East and Southeast Asia speeding up in quality and global collaboration, Indian universities might need to focus on faculty development, research grants, global collaborations, and policy reforms. The challenge is not just holding rank, but enhancing academic presence in a region where excellence is the new standard.
Picking up the pace at the top of the Asia University Rankings 2025 is China, with Tsinghua University and Peking University securing first and second positions, respectively. Both the universities have maintained their grip owing to their strong research output, strategic investment, and government support. China has taken five of the top 10 spots in the Asia rankings, further cementing its status as a hub of scholarly innovation.
Singapore also holds on to the excellence with the National University of Singapore coming in at third position and Nanyang Technological University at fourth position. Japan’s University of Tokyo at position 5 and Hong Kong’s two largest institutions—The University of Hong Kong at position 6 and The Chinese University of Hong Kong at position 9—also well placed in the top group. Most importantly, all six of Hong Kong’s ranked universities found themselves in the top 50 for the first time since 2017, indicating a turnaround in their academic fortunes.
The Asia University Rankings 2025 also saw four newcomers: Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Mongolia, and Syria entered the list for the first time. Their appearance indicates an increasing higher education landscape in Asia due to regional education reforms and cross-border partnerships.
For India, the Asia University Rankings 2025 have a two-sided story. On the one side, universities such as IISc, IITs, and Jamia Millia Islamia continue to be globally recognized and academically strong. On the other side, the small but steady fall in rankings across universities points towards systemic issues—lack of funding, bureaucratic inertia, and absence of internationalization being among the top ones.
Experts believe that in order to rank higher in subsequent editions of the Asia University Rankings, Indian universities must look beyond conventional measures of scholarly performance. Faculties should engage in active exchange programs, multidisciplinary research institutes, and specific tie-ups with foreign universities to improve visibility and production. In addition, internal governance can be simplified and autonomy adopted to facilitate quicker academic decision-making and responsiveness to international trends.
In India, the industry still struggles with uneven access to quality education and poor infrastructure in non-metropolitan areas. Although top institutions such as IISc and IITs remain strong, smaller universities lack the resources and international networks to effectively compete in rankings like the Asia University Rankings 2025.
In spite of these issues, there is hope in the increasing number of Indian institutions in the top 200, an indication that the nation’s higher education reforms and policy focus are finally yielding results. The addition of newer and more specialized universities like Shoolini University and Saveetha Institute also indicates a positive direction toward diversification and innovation in Indian academia.
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