54 Indian varsities in QS ‘26 rankings; IIT-D jumps to 123

With 54, there were more Indian universities now featured in the global higher education rankings compared to 46 last year.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi has emerged as India’s highest-ranked university, climbing 27 places to 123rd position in the QS World University Rankings 2026 released on Wednesday.

For representational purposes only. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

IIT Delhi’s rise from 150th position in 2025 marks a significant improvement, while IIT Bombay, previously India’s top-ranked institution, slipped 11 places to 129th from 118 last year.

“India’s top two highest ranking institutions perform better than more than 91% of institutions featured in the QS World University Rankings 2026,” Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) said in a statement.

With 54, there were more Indian universities now featured in the global higher education rankings compared to 46 last year. Nearly half of the previously ranked institutions improved their positions, although the best rank any Indian institution could secure was lower than last year,

“In just a decade, India’s ranked universities have grown from 11 to 54 — a 390% increase, the strongest performance across the G20, and testament to the growing global recognition of India’s higher education excellence,” QS said.

India now ranks as the fourth most represented country in the rankings, behind only the United States (192 institutions), the UK (90 institutions) and mainland China (72 institutions).

The QS World University Rankings assess institutions across 10 key indicators including academic reputation, citations per faculty, employer reputation, employment outcomes, international faculty ratio, international research network, international student diversity, international student ratio, faculty-student ratio and sustainability.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in London, QS specialises in providing data, research and consulting services to the international higher education sector.