Manipal (Karnataka), Dec 17 (IANS): Manipal University in Karnataka has been ranked among the top 100 universities in the BRICS countries and the only Indian private institution to appear in the list.

The six-decades-old institution was ranked at 100th place for its overall progress by Britain-based QS Quacquarelli Symonds among the institutions of higher learning in the BRCIS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping, a varsity release said Tuesday.

This was the maiden evaluation of universities in the five countries spanning Asia, Africa and South America by the British firm, which specialises in education abroad.

Manipal varsity, located 430 km from Bangalore, was granted deemed university status in 1993.

"The ranking will give us an impetus to strive for even better performance in future," Manipal University Chancellor Ramdas M. Pai said in the statement.

"Our endeavour to be a world class university through education and research has begun to show result," said Vice Chancellor K. Ramnarayan.

The ranking was done on eight indicators, including academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio and citations per paper.

"Manipal University outperforms many Indian institutions in terms of faculty-student ratio and international students while maintaining a strong employer reputation," said QS Asia country director Karthick Sridhar.

As rankings are used as a tool to determine the choice of a university the world over, the private university has initiated steps to engage with ranking agencies with data.

"Improvement is, however, needed in academic reputation and research being done in the university," Sridhar said.

QS University rankings project director Zoya Zaitseva said BRICS were investing heavily in higher education and research.

"The new ranking will increase their visibility and allow them to become more recognised on a global level," Zaitseva added.