Indian universities have shown remarkable research output across Asia, with five universities securing ranks in the regional top 10 for papers per faculty in the newly released QS world University Rankings: Asia 2027. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru has claimed the number one position across Aisa for the research publication volume relative to its faculty size, scoring a perfect 100. However, the data shows a clear contrast, while Indian researchers are publishing at high rates, translating that output into a global citation impact remains a main hurdle.
Indian Institutions in Aisa’s Research Top 10 Category in QS University Rankings
India holds the strongest presence of any Aisan higher education system in the Papers per Faculty indicator in the QS Asia University Rankings 2027. Given below are the rankings of the Indian universities:-
|
Asian Rankings 2027 |
University |
Overall QS Asia 2027 Rank |
|
1 |
79 |
|
|
3 |
IIT Madras |
85 |
|
7 |
IIT Delhi |
66 |
|
8 |
IIT Roorkee |
124 |
|
9 |
IIT Ropar |
678 |
There were in total, 27 Indian universities which now rank among Asia’s top 50 for research volume, up from just 10 in 2018.
Why Paper Count is Only Part of the Story?
Despite strong publication numbers, there are only three Indian universities which feature in Aisa’s top 50 for Citations per paper in the QS Asia Univeristy Rankings 2027, which measures how frequently global academic reference and build upon published work. A clear example is IIT Ropar, which ranks 9th in Aisa for research output per faculty but sits at 678th in the overall continental rankings. This gap reflects how overall scores factor in broader elements, including international student ratios, global faculty diversity, and international research networks.
Strong Doctoral Base Supports Growth in QS Asia Rankings 2027
The foundation behind India’s prolific research output is its strong academic qualification rate.
- 15 of the Indian universities share the joint first position in Asia for the faculty holding doctorate degrees.
- There are around 47 Indian universities rank within Asia’s top 100 ranks on the doctoral base metric.
- Reforms under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and funding support through the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) are structured to transition this foundation from volume-driven publishing toward globally collaborative and high -impact science.
Also check, QS Asia University Rankings 2027: IIT Delhi Tops India at 66th Rank
