Chandigarh, Dec 5

Panjab University, being ranked 13th among all BRICS countries and as the top-ranked university in India was "no surprise", Vice Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover said Thursday.

The university was recently ranked 13th among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries and emerging economies in the world.

It also became the top-ranked university in India in the latest rankings by Times Higher Education (THE) magazine.

"It is no surprise that PU is ranked among the top universities in the BRICS and emerging economies. I am happy that PU got top ranking in the country," Grover told the media here.

In the world rankings released in October, PU was ranked in the 226-250 category.

Ten Indian universities were placed among the top 100 universities in the BRICS and emerging economies list.

PU, alma mater of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, emerged ahead of various IITs and other leading universities.

Based out of a 550-acre campus in Chandigarh, PU emerged as the highest-ranked Indian university in the top 400 institutions of its kind in the world.

Having being placed among universities ranked 226-250th by THE, PU is the only Indian institution of higher learning to inch closer to the top-200 mark.

Other famous alumna of PU include former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral, former president Shankar Dayal Sharma, Nobel laureate Hargobind Khurana and astronaut Kalpana Chawla among others.

By:IANS