India has one of the largest and most diverse higher education sectors, especially the technical and engineering schools. As the nation celebrates its Independence Day, here is a look at how Indian higher education institutions grew from their humble beginnings to some of the most recognised places of learning that churned out global leaders.

The Indian Parliament in 1961 had declared technical institutes as "institutes of national importance", which helped the universities grow leaps and bounds and maintain international importance.

Now, it is not just the India-born students who aim to study in the well-established institutes of India.

The demand for Indian higher education institutes grew massively among the international students too, mainly because the majority of the courses are taught in English.

Add to that the beautiful and green campus settings, diverse cultural learning, and exciting events and festivals, and that provides an all-round experience for students, from home and abroad.

Here are some of the best institutes of India:

<h2>Indian Institutes of Technology</h2>

Governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are a group of autonomous public technical universities spread across the country. As of now, IITs are located in nearly 23 cities of India. While all branches of IITs are connected through a common council (IIT Council) that is responsible for handling the administration side, every IIT runs as an autonomous institute.

Out of all the IITs, Madras and Ropar usually have been fighting for the first spot in the country. IIT Ropar was established in 2008 and is located in Rupnagar in the state of Punjab. Covered over nearly 203 hectares of campus, the institute provides several courses in the STEM field such as chemical engineering, mathematics, physics, electrical engineering and many more.

IIT Madras is one of the oldest IITs in the country. Established in 1959 in Chennai as the third IIT of India, IIT Madras has maintained its position in the top 10 institutes of India for more than 10 years. With access to Guindy National park and a campus area of nearly 2.5 square kilometres, the institute has managed to protect a large number of wild animals such as chital, black buck, and many more.

In addition to this, IIT Bombay, Kharagpur, Delhi, Kanpur, Roorkee, Indore, Guwahati, and many more have&nbsp;a remarkable presence in technical training in the world.

<h2>Indian Institutes of Science</h2>

Established in 1909 in the state of Karnataka, IISc is one of the top 3 institutes of India. Even though the institute offers only one major undergraduate course (BA in Science), getting admission to&nbsp;this university usually proves to be highly difficult for students. IIS mainly focuses on research and nearly 70 per cent of students opt for MA research and PhD.

<h2>Banaras Hindu University</h2>

Formerly known as Central Hindu College, BHU was established in 1916 in Varanasi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. BHU is one of the largest residential universities in Asia and is located on a 1,300 acres land near the banks of the holy river, Ganga. BHU prides itself on having alumni and faculty members such as Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Narla Tata Rao, Robert M. Pirsig and many more.

<h2>University of Delhi</h2>

Considered to be one of the biggest higher education institutes of India now, the University of Delhi opened with just 750 students and only two schools — arts and sciences. The Vice President of India serves as the Chancellor of the university and the Chief Justice of India retains the position of pro-chancellor.

Over time, the university has expanded its roots with the north and south campus that houses colleges from the two directions, and all other colleges fall under an informal label known as 'off campus'.

<h2>Jamia Milia Islamia</h2>

A public university in Delhi, Jamia Milia Islamia was established by Muslim leaders in 1920 such as Maulana Mehmud Hasan. The institute’s faculty was largely made up of scholars who quit Aligarh Muslim University due to its alleged pro-British rule inclinations. While it was established in 1920, it was officially deemed as a university in 1962 and now has nearly nine faculties.

The university, once described as ‘one of the most progressive educational institutions of India’ by Rabindranath Tagore, has also earned laurels for hosting Ranji Trophy cricket matches, Women's Cricket Test matches, Women World Cup and more.

<h2>Jawaharlal Nehru University</h2>

Established in 1969, JNU was named in honour of India’s first prime minister. The university is one of the smallest universities of India that holds the status of ‘national importance’. JNU has nearly 10,000 students and almost all the enrolled students are already graduates. The university fiercely screens its candidates, with the process usually consisting a written exam followed by an interview round. It usually attracts three times the number of applications for limited available seats in every course.

For the past few years, the institute has been in the headlines for its vibrant and active student-political culture and related controversies.

<h2>Indian Institutes of Management</h2>

IIM(s) are one of the most reputed chain of universities for management education and research. With a presence in over 20 cities of India, these IIMs fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. The first IIM was established by India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1961.&nbsp;Later, the institutes were given more freedom for their daily tasks after the passage of Indian Institutes of Management Act 2017. Present in Ahemedabad, Bangalore, Rohtak, Ranchi, Lucknow, Indore, Calcutta and many other places, IIMs draw crowds from India as well as abroad for its wide-ranging management-related courses.

India has one of the largest and most diverse higher education sectors, especially the technical and engineering schools. As the nation celebrates its Independence Day, here is a look at how Indian higher education institutions grew from their humble beginnings to some of the most recognised places of learning that churned out global leaders.

India has one of the largest and most diverse higher education sectors, especially the technical and engineering schools. As the nation celebrates its Independence Day, here is a look at how Indian higher education institutions grew from their humble beginnings to some of the most recognised places of learning that churned out global leaders. The Indian Parliament in 1961 had declared technical institutes as "institutes of national importance", which helped the universities grow leaps and bounds and maintain international importance. Now, it is not just the India-born students who aim to study in the well-established institutes of India. The demand for Indian higher education institutes grew massively among the international students too, mainly because the majority of the courses are taught in English. Add to that the beautiful and green campus settings, diverse cultural learning, and exciting events and festivals, and that provides an all-round experience for students, from home and abroad. Here are some of the best institutes of India: Indian Institutes of Technology Governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are a group of autonomous public technical universities spread across the country. As of now, IITs are located in nearly 23 cities of India. While all branches of IITs are connected through a common council (IIT Council) that is responsible for handling the administration side, every IIT runs as an autonomous institute. Out of all the IITs, Madras and Ropar usually have been fighting for the first spot in the country. IIT Ropar was established in 2008 and is located in Rupnagar in the state of Punjab. Covered over nearly 203 hectares of campus, the institute provides several courses in the STEM field such as chemical engineering, mathematics, physics, electrical engineering and many more. IIT Madras is one of the oldest IITs in the country. Established in 1959 in Chennai as the third IIT of India, IIT Madras has maintained its position in the top 10 institutes of India for more than 10 years. With access to Guindy National park and a campus area of nearly 2.5 square kilometres, the institute has managed to protect a large number of wild animals such as chital, black buck, and many more. In addition to this, IIT Bombay, Kharagpur, Delhi, Kanpur, Roorkee, Indore, Guwahati, and many more have a remarkable presence in technical training in the world. Indian Institutes of Science Established in 1909 in the state of Karnataka, IISc is one of the top 3 institutes of India. Even though the institute offers only one major undergraduate course (BA in Science), getting admission to this university usually proves to be highly difficult for students. IIS mainly focuses on research and nearly 70 per cent of students opt for MA research and PhD. Banaras Hindu University Formerly known as Central Hindu College, BHU was established in 1916 in Varanasi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. BHU is one of the largest residential universities in Asia and is located on a 1,300 acres land near the banks of the holy river, Ganga. BHU prides itself on having alumni and faculty members such as Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Narla Tata Rao, Robert M. Pirsig and many more. University of Delhi Considered to be one of the biggest higher education institutes of India now, the University of Delhi opened with just 750 students and only two schools — arts and sciences. The Vice President of India serves as the Chancellor of the university and the Chief Justice of India retains the position of pro-chancellor. Over time, the university has expanded its roots with the north and south campus that houses colleges from the two directions, and all other colleges fall under an informal label known as 'off campus'. Jamia Milia Islamia A public university in Delhi, Jamia Milia Islamia was established by Muslim leaders in 1920 such as Maulana Mehmud Hasan. The institute’s faculty was largely made up of scholars who quit Aligarh Muslim University due to its alleged pro-British rule inclinations. While it was established in 1920, it was officially deemed as a university in 1962 and now has nearly nine faculties. The university, once described as ‘one of the most progressive educational institutions of India’ by Rabindranath Tagore, has also earned laurels for hosting Ranji Trophy cricket matches, Women's Cricket Test matches, Women World Cup and more. Jawaharlal Nehru University Established in 1969, JNU was named in honour of India’s first prime minister. The university is one of the smallest universities of India that holds the status of ‘national importance’. JNU has nearly 10,000 students and almost all the enrolled students are already graduates. The university fiercely screens its candidates, with the process usually consisting a written exam followed by an interview round. It usually attracts three times the number of applications for limited available seats in every course. For the past few years, the institute has been in the headlines for its vibrant and active student-political culture and related controversies. Indian Institutes of Management IIM(s) are one of the most reputed chain of universities for management education and research. With a presence in over 20 cities of India, these IIMs fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. The first IIM was established by India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1961. Later, the institutes were given more freedom for their daily tasks after the passage of Indian Institutes of Management Act 2017. Present in Ahemedabad, Bangalore, Rohtak, Ranchi, Lucknow, Indore, Calcutta and many other places, IIMs draw crowds from India as well as abroad for its wide-ranging management-related courses.

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Every day more than 1,000 water tankers rumble past Nagraj&#39;s small plywood store in Bangalore, throwing up clouds of dust as they rush their valuable cargo to homes and offices in India&#39;s drought-stricken tech hub.

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Gleaming new apartment blocks are still springing up all over the city is known as India&#39;s Silicon Valley -- even though there is nowhere near enough mains water to supply those already living and working there.

Many rely entirely on supplies shipped in by tankers filled from giant borewells that have caused groundwater levels to plummet, sparking predictions Bangalore could be the first Indian city to run out of the water.

&quot;There is a severe scarcity of water here,&quot; said Nagraj, 30, who moved to the suburban neighbourhood of Panathur a decade ago and has seen it transformed by rampant construction.

&quot;The future will be very difficult. It is impossible to imagine how they will find water, how they will live. Even if we dig 1,500 feet (450 metres) down, we are not getting water.&quot;

Panathur lies next to Bangalore&#39;s biggest lake, Bellandur, which provides a poignant reminder that things weren&#39;t always like this.

Once known as India&#39;s garden city for its lush green parks, Bangalore was built around a series of lakes created to form rainwater reservoirs and prevent the precious resource from draining away.

Many have now been concreted over to build apartment blocks with names like Dream Acres and Strawberry Fields to house the workers who have flocked here during India&#39;s outsourcing boom.

Many of those that remain are heavily polluted. Bellandur has become so toxic it spontaneously catches fire, and emits clouds of white froth so large authorities have had to build barriers to keep it from spilling onto the road.

&quot;The city is dying,&quot; says TV&nbsp;Ramachandra, an ecologist with the Indian Institute of Science who has predicted the Karnataka state capital could be the first Indian city to follow Cape Town in running out of water.

&quot;If the current trend of growth and urbanisation is allowed (to continue), by 2020, 94 percent of the landscape will be concretised.&quot;

Already, more than half of Bangalore&#39;s estimated 10 million inhabitants have to rely on borewells and tankers for their water because there isn&#39;t enough mains supply to go round.

Most of the city&#39;s municipal water is supplied by the Cauvery river, whose waters flow through Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu state before emptying into the Bay of Bengal, and have been bitterly disputed for more than a century.

Two years ago, an order to release extra water from the river to ease a shortage threatening crops in Tamil Nadu sparked deadly protests in Bangalore that forced hundreds of companies to close.

Last month the Supreme Court stepped in, altering the river-sharing arrangement in Karnataka&#39;s favour citing Bangalore&#39;s dire need.Ecologist Ramachandra says Bangalore has enough annual rainfall to provide water for its estimated 10 million people without resorting to borewells or rivers -- if only it could harvest the resource more effectively.

&quot;If there is a water crisis, we should not think about river diversion. We should think about how to retain the water,&quot; he said, blaming &quot;fragmented, uncoordinated governance&quot; for the crisis.

As in the rest of India though, there is little incentive for citizens to save water.

Despite years of drought, the government still provides clean water to citizens at heavily subsidised rates and access to groundwater is largely unregulated.

&quot;In Bangalore 1,000 bottles of the cleanest treated water comes to our doorstep and we pay only six rupees (about nine cents)... the incentive is not there,&quot; says A.R. Shivakumar, a senior scientist with the Karnataka State Council of Science and Technology.

Despite this, Shivakumar and his family have not used a single drop of mains water in the 23 years they have lived at their home in Bangalore.

Instead they rely entirely on rainwater collected through gutters and stored in large tanks under the house, which Shivakumar designed with water efficiency in mind. Even the cement used to build it was made with recycled water.

His work setting up rainwater harvesting at bus stops, in slum housing and even along the city&#39;s metro system proved so effective that city authorities now require all new housing developments to have inbuilt systems.

&quot;This crisis will force everyone to take up measures like rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures,&quot; he told AFP.

&quot;The new generation have shown a lot of concern toward the environment and conservation measures. That will definitely take it forward. Awareness is already on the increase.&quot;

Every day more than 1,000 water tankers rumble past Nagraj's small plywood store in Bangalore, throwing up clouds of dust as they rush their valuable cargo to homes and offices in India's drought-stricken tech hub

Every day more than 1,000 water tankers rumble past Nagraj's small plywood store in Bangalore, throwing up clouds of dust as they rush their valuable cargo to homes and offices in India's drought-stricken tech hub. × Gleaming new apartment blocks are still springing up all over the city is known as India's Silicon Valley -- even though there is nowhere near enough mains water to supply those already living and working there. Many rely entirely on supplies shipped in by tankers filled from giant borewells that have caused groundwater levels to plummet, sparking predictions Bangalore could be the first Indian city to run out of the water. "There is a severe scarcity of water here," said Nagraj, 30, who moved to the suburban neighbourhood of Panathur a decade ago and has seen it transformed by rampant construction. "The future will be very difficult. It is impossible to imagine how they will find water, how they will live. Even if we dig 1,500 feet (450 metres) down, we are not getting water." Panathur lies next to Bangalore's biggest lake, Bellandur, which provides a poignant reminder that things weren't always like this. Once known as India's garden city for its lush green parks, Bangalore was built around a series of lakes created to form rainwater reservoirs and prevent the precious resource from draining away. Many have now been concreted over to build apartment blocks with names like Dream Acres and Strawberry Fields to house the workers who have flocked here during India's outsourcing boom. Many of those that remain are heavily polluted. Bellandur has become so toxic it spontaneously catches fire, and emits clouds of white froth so large authorities have had to build barriers to keep it from spilling onto the road. "The city is dying," says TV Ramachandra, an ecologist with the Indian Institute of Science who has predicted the Karnataka state capital could be the first Indian city to follow Cape Town in running out of water. "If the current trend of growth and urbanisation is allowed (to continue), by 2020, 94 percent of the landscape will be concretised." Already, more than half of Bangalore's estimated 10 million inhabitants have to rely on borewells and tankers for their water because there isn't enough mains supply to go round. Most of the city's municipal water is supplied by the Cauvery river, whose waters flow through Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu state before emptying into the Bay of Bengal, and have been bitterly disputed for more than a century. Two years ago, an order to release extra water from the river to ease a shortage threatening crops in Tamil Nadu sparked deadly protests in Bangalore that forced hundreds of companies to close. Last month the Supreme Court stepped in, altering the river-sharing arrangement in Karnataka's favour citing Bangalore's dire need.Ecologist Ramachandra says Bangalore has enough annual rainfall to provide water for its estimated 10 million people without resorting to borewells or rivers -- if only it could harvest the resource more effectively. "If there is a water crisis, we should not think about river diversion. We should think about how to retain the water," he said, blaming "fragmented, uncoordinated governance" for the crisis. As in the rest of India though, there is little incentive for citizens to save water. Despite years of drought, the government still provides clean water to citizens at heavily subsidised rates and access to groundwater is largely unregulated. "In Bangalore 1,000 bottles of the cleanest treated water comes to our doorstep and we pay only six rupees (about nine cents)... the incentive is not there," says A.R. Shivakumar, a senior scientist with the Karnataka State Council of Science and Technology. Despite this, Shivakumar and his family have not used a single drop of mains water in the 23 years they have lived at their home in Bangalore. Instead they rely entirely on rainwater collected through gutters and stored in large tanks under the house, which Shivakumar designed with water efficiency in mind. Even the cement used to build it was made with recycled water. His work setting up rainwater harvesting at bus stops, in slum housing and even along the city's metro system proved so effective that city authorities now require all new housing developments to have inbuilt systems. "This crisis will force everyone to take up measures like rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures," he told AFP. "The new generation have shown a lot of concern toward the environment and conservation measures. That will definitely take it forward. Awareness is already on the increase."

India's Silicon Valley faces man-made water crisis