Why BITS Pilani withdrew from THE Rankings

THIS FOLLOWS SIMILAR MOVES BY SORBONNE, UTRECHT, ZURICH, AND SIX TOP IITS

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

IN A MOVE that signals a growing rift between India's elite technical institutions and global ranking bodies, BITS Pilani has withdrawn from the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2026. Speaking on the decision, Prof V Ramgopal Rao, group vice-chancellor of BITS Pilani, characterised the ranking methodology as a "black box" that failed to align with verifiable academic and research capacity of Indian institutions.

The decision marks a milestone in a journey that began in 2020, when Prof Rao led a high-profile boycott of THE Rankings alongside several IITs. While those initial concerns centred on the opacity of reputation surveys, Prof Rao said that the problem had become structural.

Research metrics

At the heart of the withdrawal was THE's 'Research Quality' pillar, which accounts for 30% of an institution's overall score. This pillar, along with its sub-indicators — citation impact, research strength, excellence, and influence — is derived from citation behaviour.