New Delhi, June 19: A record 54 Indian institutes have been featured in the QS World University Rankings 2026 released on Thursday, with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) emerging as the country’s top-ranked institute.
IIT Delhi’s global ranking has seen a significant jump from the earlier 150th position to the current 123rd rank. This is also the highest QS World University Ranking achieved so far by the Institute. “India’s higher education institutes witness unprecedented rise in QS global university rankings, with more institutions than ever before earning their place on the world stage,” the Ministry of Education said in a post on the social media platform X.
“India has emerged as the fastest-growing G20 nation in the QS World University Rankings, with a phenomenal 390 per cent growth over the past decade,” it added. IIT Delhi is closely followed by IIT Bombay, which was the top Indian institute in last year’s rankings.
It dropped to the 129th position this year from 118 in 2025. IIT Madras jumped 47 places to secure the 180th spot, up from 227 in 2025. For the first time, eight Indian institutions entered the list of QS rankings. It is the highest number of new entries from any country. With the 2026 QSRankings, India has become the fourth most represented nation globally, after the US, UK, and China.
About 48 per cent of India’s ranked universities improved their positions this year. Five Indian institutions rank in the global top 100 for Employer Reputation. “From just 11 universities in 2014 to 54 in the latest rankings, this five-fold jump is a testament to the transformative educational reforms ushered by PM Narendra Modi ji’s govt. in the last decade.
NEP 2020 is not just changing our educational landscape, it is revolutionising it,” said Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education, on X. IIT Kharagpur (215), IISc Bangalore (219), and Delhi University (328) are other premier Indian institutes that made it to the prestigious list.
It also includes private institutions such as BITS Pilani (668) and OP Jindal Global University (851-900). Meanwhile, the global list continues to be led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), marking its 14th consecutive year at the top.
IANS