54 Indian Institutes Feature in QS World University Rankings 2026
On June 19, the QS World University Rankings 2026 list was released. This year, India achieved its best-ever performance: 54 Indian higher education institutions were included among over 1,500 universities across 106 countries.
IIT Delhi in Top 150, IIT Madras Enters Top 200
IIT Delhi secured the 123rd position—moving up from last year's placement in the top 150. IIT Bombay also remained in the top 150, though its ranking slipped from 118 to 129.
Notably, IIT Madras broke into the top 200 for the first time, ranking 180th—an impressive jump from last year’s 227th position.
India’s Rising Presence in QS Rankings
This marks a significant rise from 2015, when only 11 Indian institutes appeared in the QS list. In 2024 and 2025, 46 institutes were included, but 2026 saw the tally climb to 54, trailing only the US, UK, and China in terms of representation.
Top 10 Global Universities
For reference, here are the current world top 10 universities in the QS 2026 rankings:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- University of Cambridge
- Stanford University
- University of Oxford
- Harvard University
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
- Imperial College London
- ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
- UCL (University College London)
- National University of Singapore (NUS)