QS Asia University Rankings 2026: IIT Delhi tops among Indian institutions

In the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, IIT Delhi, which continues to be the country’s top-ranked institution for the second consecutive year, has secured the 59th position this year. Meanwhile, the number of Indian universities has increased from 24 in 2016 to 294 in 2026.

• In the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, the number of Indian universities has seen a record increase. From 24 universities in 2016, the number has risen to 294 in 2026.
• The number of Indian universities listed is only behind China’s 395 institutions. A total of 1,529 institutions are included in this ranking.
• Except for one, all of the top 10 Indian institutions, including seven IITs, have seen a significant drop in their rankings this year, with institutions from China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore outperforming them.
• In the 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings: Asia, five IITs – Delhi, Madras, Bombay, Kanpur, and Kharagpur – recorded their lowest ranks in recent years among the top 10 Indian institutions.

Indian Institutions

• IIT Delhi, which continues to be the country’s top-ranked institution for the second consecutive year, stood at the 59th position this year, a sharp drop of 15 ranks from last year’s 44th position.
• IIT Bombay witnessed the steepest fall in ranking, dropping 23 positions this year. Among Indian institutions, IIT Bombay ranked fourth, at 71st place in the 2026 edition, down from 48th place in 2025.
• The only Indian institution among the top 10 to have improved its ranking from last year is Chandigarh University, a private university, which ranked 109th this year, up from 120th place last year.
• QS cited metrics such as ‘citations per paper’ (a measure of research impact), faculty-student ratio, ‘international student ratio,’ and ‘internationalization’ as areas where Indian institutions saw a decline compared to their regional counterparts.

Top 10 Indian Institutions in 2026

• IIT Delhi – 59
• IISc – 64
• IIT Madras – 70
• IIT Bombay – 71
• IIT Kanpur – 77
• IIT Kharagpur – 77
• Delhi University – 95
• Chandigarh University – 109
• IIT Roorkee – 114
• IIT Guwahati – 115

QS Asia Rankings 2026: Top 10 Institutions

• 1 University of Hong Kong
• 2 Peking University
• 3 National University of Singapore
• 4 Nanyang Technological University
• 5 Fudan University
• 6 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• 7 Chinese University of Hong Kong
• 8 City University of Hong Kong
• 9 Tsinghua University
• 10 Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• For the ranking, QS considers scores based on academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, international research network, citations per paper, papers per faculty, PhD staff, international faculty, international students, and inbound-outbound exchange students.
• Based on academic reputation, employer reputation, PhD staff, and papers per faculty, IITs have performed well, with scores between 80 and 90.