India's Top 50 Engineering Colleges 2011

Ranking the top colleges is a very difficult task. While it is relatively easy to create clusters of colleges, it is differentiating within clusters that became the most difficult exercise. So for the first time in the country we have used balanced scorecard methodology to arrive at the ranking of the top 50 colleges. Ranking methodology: We scanned the last five year rankings of about 241 colleges and normalised their ranks, by assigning differential weights to subjective and objective ranking. Such a process is used to develop clusters of institutions. The research standing of individual institutions were further used to refine the clusters and remove the odd men out. Individual clusters were ranked serially. In each of these clusters the differences in cut-off marks, wherever possible (like in case of IITs and AIEEE institutes and some States) were used to arrive at individual ranks. Heavily dominated by public institutions, the top-50 listing is a roll call of excellence India’s top 50 engineering institutions 2011

Indian Services Growth

India's services sector expanded at its slowest pace in 20 months in May as soaring prices and interest rate hikes gnawed at new business growth and reduced the level of optimism, a survey showed on Friday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC Markit Business Activity Index, based on a survey of over 400 firms, slipped to 55.0 in May from 59.2 in April, marking its twenty-fifth successive month above the 50 level that divides growth from contraction. While the latest reading underlines a reasonably solid pace of growth in the services sector, its decline is an indication that continuous rate rises aimed at containing inflation are putting the brakes on India's rapid expansion. All sub-indexes saw a fall when compared to April, with the exception of input costs and employment. New business received by service companies remained strong but the pace of expansion slowed with the sub-index falling to its lowest level since October last year. Among the sub-indexes, business expectations saw the steepest fall to 67.8 in May from 72.8 in April, as respondents, though confident of the sector's performance over the next 12 months, slightly tempered expectations as economic uncertainty loomed. Data released earlier this week showed Asia's third-largest economy grew at its slowest annual pace in five quarters in January to March as consecutive interest rate hikes, aimed at reigning in soaring inflation, began to take effect. Gross domestic product rose 7.8 percent from a year earlier, lower than 8.3 percent in the previous quarter and below the median 8.2 percent forecast in a Reuters poll. While weaker-than-expected growth might cause the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise rates in smaller increments, the survey showed price pressures will persist. Input costs increased markedly in May due to rising wage bills and raw material costs. Further inflation pressures are expected as the economy braces for an increase in government-controlled prices of diesel and cooking fuels.