Record 54 Indian institutes in QS Rankings 2026; IIT Delhi tops national list

Record 54 Indian institutes in QS Rankings 2026; IIT Delhi tops national list

A record 54 Indian institutions have been featured in the QS World University Rankings 2026, released on Thursday, with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi emerging as the top-ranked Indian institution nationally.

IIT Delhi climbed from 150th position last year to 123rd this year—its best performance to date in the global rankings. The institute has overtaken IIT Bombay, which was India’s highest-ranked institution in 2025 but slipped from 118th to 129th this year.

IIT Madras recorded one of the biggest jumps, rising 47 places to reach 180th position, up from 227th in 2025.

According to the Ministry of Education, India has seen an “unprecedented rise” in representation, with more universities than ever earning a place in the global rankings. The ministry stated that India is now the fastest-growing G20 country in the QS rankings, recording a 390 per cent increase in the number of ranked institutions over the past decade.

“This five-fold jump—from just 11 institutions in 2014 to 54 in 2026—is a testament to the transformative reforms brought in by the Modi government over the last ten years,” Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a post on X. “The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is not just changing our education system; it is revolutionising it.”

This year, eight Indian institutions entered the QS rankings for the first time—the highest number of new entrants from any single country. With this, India now stands as the fourth most represented country in the list, behind the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.

Nearly 48 per cent of Indian institutions already on the list improved their global positions this year, according to QS. Additionally, five Indian universities made it to the global top 100 in terms of employer reputation.

Among other top-ranked Indian institutions are IIT Kharagpur (215th), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore (219th), and Delhi University (328th).

Private institutions also made their presence felt, with BITS Pilani placed at 668th and OP Jindal Global University in the 851–900 band.

Globally, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retained the top position for the 14th consecutive year.