Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) has yet again bagged the impressive spot of India's best institution for fifth consecutive year, according to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) university rankings 2026. A total of seven Indian institutions have made place in the list of top 100 Asian institutes in QS rankings.
With an overall score of 65.5, the 64-year-old institute in Delhi has also ranked 59 among institutes in Asia, followed by IISc Bengaluru at 64th, IIT Madras at 70th, IIT Bombay at 71st, IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur at 77th, and Delhi University at 95th rank, according to the report released on Tuesday.
“Seven Indian institutions rank in the top 100 in QS World University Asia rankings, 20 in the top 200 and 66 in the top 500,” London based QS said in a statement.
The statement added that 36 Indian institutes improved, 16 remained the same and 105 dropped, compared to last year’s rankings. “The expansion of the rankings is associated with the greater volatility observed in this year’s results,”
Looking back at QS' 2025 ranking, IIT Delhi fell from 44th to 59th, IISc from 62nd to 64th, IIT Madras from 56th to 70th, IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur from 67th and 60th respectively to 77th, and Delhi University from 81st to 95th.
{{/usCountry}}Looking back at QS' 2025 ranking, IIT Delhi fell from 44th to 59th, IISc from 62nd to 64th, IIT Madras from 56th to 70th, IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur from 67th and 60th respectively to 77th, and Delhi University from 81st to 95th.
{{/usCountry}}“Overall, 41 Indian institutions appear in the top 80th percentile of universities,” it added.
India also ranked best in Asia for staff with PhD, the report said.
PM lauds the increasing number of Indian institutions in QS rankings
Expressing joy on the latest QS ranking that was released today, PM Narendra Modi took to his official X (formerly twitter) handle to note the increase in Indian educational institutions on list released by the London based company.
“Glad to see a record increase in the number of Indian universities in the QS Asia University Rankings over the last decade,” PM Modi wrote on X.
He added that the Indian government is committed to ensuring quality education for the country's youth, with a focus on research and innovation.
“We are also building institutional capacities in this sector by enabling more educational institutions across India,” he further wrote.