Among the five top institutes IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Madras and IIT-Kharagpur have made it to the list. File photograph of IIT Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are ranked among the top 20 universities in the latest ranking of the top 100 universities of BRICS member nations. Among the top 100 universities across five nations, Mumbai University is also featured in the new list.

The BRICS countries ranking is designed to highlight the top universities in the five countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Smriti Irani, Human Resource Development Minister on Tuesday presented the first copy of the 'QS University Rankings: BRICS 2014' to prime minister Narendra Modi.

After receiving the copy, Modi reportedly underlined the need for linking research and education to the development needs of the country. He emphasised the need for India to evolve an independent 'India Ranking' metric which can then involve the SAARC nations as the existing systems are skewed towards Western Nations.

Among the five top institutes IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Madras and IIT-Kharagpur have made it to the list.

The prestigious IIT Kharagpur has a higher proportion of PhDs among its staff than any university in the five countries. On overall staffing levels, only Manipal University appears in the top 100 among the universities of the BRICS countries.

Other educational institutions from India in the list include Mumbai University, University of Madras, Banaras Hindu University, Manipal University, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, University of Pune, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Calcutta University, Delhi University, Allahabad, Amity University, Anna University and Punjab University.

The ranking seeks to highlight the strengths and achievements of the higher education system in these five emerging economies to facilitate a comparison of their universities.