<P> As per the latest 2011 Census, about 8.15% (68 millions) of Indians are graduates, with Union Territories of Chandigarh and Delhi topping the list with 24.65% and 22.56% of their population being graduates respectively . Indian higher education system has expanded at a fast pace by adding nearly 20,000 colleges and more than 8 million students in a decade from 2000--01 to 2010--11 . As of 2016, India has 799 universities, with a break up of 44 central universities, 540 state universities, 122 deemed universities, 90 private universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 75 Institutes of National Importance which include AIIMS, IIT's and NIT's among others . Other institutions include 39,071 colleges as Government Degree Colleges and Private Degree Colleges, including 1800 exclusive women's colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions as reported by the UGC in 2016 . Colleges may be Autonomous, i.e. empowered to examine their own degrees, up to PhD level in some cases, or non-autonomous, in which case their examinations are under the supervision of the university to which they are affiliated; in either case, however, degrees are awarded in the name of the university rather than the college . </P> <P> The emphasis in the tertiary level of education lies on science and technology . Indian educational institutions by 2004 consisted of a large number of technology institutes . Distance learning and open education is also a feature of the Indian higher education system, and is looked after by the Distance Education Council . Indira Gandhi National Open University is the largest university in the world by number of students, having approximately 3.5 million students across the globe . </P> <P> Some institutions of India, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institute of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISERs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), University of Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru University have been globally acclaimed for their standard of education . The IITs enroll about 8000 students annually and the alumni have contributed to both the growth of the private sector and the public sectors of India . However, Indian universities still lag behind universities such as Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford . </P> <P> Indian higher education is in need of radical reforms . A focus on enforcing higher standards of transparency, strengthening of the vocational and doctoral education pipeline, and professionalization of the sector through stronger institutional responsibility would help in reprioritizing efforts and working around the complexities . The rise of IT sector and engineering education in India has boxed students into linear path without giving them a chance to explore and discover their passions . Concerted and collaborative efforts are needed in broaden student choices through liberal arts education . </P>

India's ranking in higher education system in world