India strengthens global education standing with 68 institutes in CWUR 2025 rankings

India has secured 68 spots in the 2025 edition of the Global 2000 list released by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) on June 2.

Topping the Indian entries is the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, ranked 428th globally, despite dropping 18 places compared to last year.

CWUR is a global consultancy that provides strategic advice to governments and universities to improve education and research outcomes.

Harvard University has once again claimed the top position worldwide for the fourteenth year in a row, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University.

The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford round out the top five, making them the highest-ranked public institutions globally.

The remaining spots in the top 10 are occupied by US private universities: Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Yale, and the University of Chicago.

Meanwhile, China has surpassed the US in the number of institutions ranked, with 346 universities making the list, up from 324 last year.

According to an official CWUR statement, “India is enhancing its global standing in higher education. Thirty-nine universities from India have improved their rankings from last year, while 29 have seen a drop.”

The key reason behind the improvement is better research performance, with 37 Indian institutions recording gains in this area.

IIM Ahmedabad continues to lead among Indian institutions and holds the 11th global position for employability.

However, its overall ranking declined due to a drop in the quality of education indicator. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is placed at 521st, a fall of 20 spots.

IIT Madras showed improvement, climbing 21 places to 561st, just ahead of IIT Bombay (562nd) and IIT Delhi (582nd).

India’s top ten also include Delhi University (636), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (644), IIT Kharagpur (689), Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (736), and Homi Bhabha National Institute (820).

CWUR President Nadim Mahassen said, “With sixty-eight Indian institutions in the rankings, India is well represented among the world’s top universities. Increased financial support from the government and prioritizing education and science will make India even more competitive globally.”

Mahassen also raised concerns about the performance of US universities outside the top tier.

“The decline of the vast majority of US institutions should concern the education authorities, particularly as Chinese universities benefit from years of consistent government support,” he said.