For the first time in eight years, IIT Delhi has emerged as India’s highest-ranked institution in the QS World University Rankings 2026, overtaking IIT Bombay, which had dominated the top spot among Indian institutions in six of the past ten years.
IIT Delhi climbed an impressive 27 places to secure the global rank of 123, improving from 150 last year. Meanwhile, IIT Bombay fell 11 places to rank 129, despite having previously achieved India’s best-ever position—118—in the 2025 rankings. No Indian university has yet broken into the global top 100.
At the global level, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retained its position at the top for the 14th consecutive year. It was followed by Imperial College London, Stanford University, the University of Oxford, and Harvard University.
India ranked fourth globally in terms of the number of institutions featured in the list, with 54 entries, trailing only the United States (192), the United Kingdom (90), and China (72).
IIT Delhi’s Rise and the Numbers Behind It
According to QS, IIT Delhi’s rise was driven by strong performance across key indicators, particularly in:
- Employer Reputation: up 23 places
- Citations per Faculty: up 40 places
- Employment Outcomes: up 21 places
- Sustainability: a dramatic jump of 252 places
The institute outperformed IIT Bombay in several categories, including:
- Citations per Faculty: 93.1 (Delhi) vs 82.9 (Bombay)
- International Student Diversity: 6.3 vs 1.5
- International Research Network: 66.9 vs 46.6
- Sustainability: 79.9 vs 75.2
However, IIT Bombay maintained an edge in traditional metrics such as academic reputation, employer reputation, and employment outcome, scoring 72.6 in the latter compared to IIT Delhi’s 50.5.
Professor Vivek Buwa, Dean (Planning) and head of the rankings cell at IIT Delhi, attributed the improvement to enhanced research infrastructure and increased global collaboration. “The grant under the ‘Institution of Eminence’ initiative enabled us to invest ₹200–300 crore in research facilities. This, in turn, improved our publications and citations,” he said.
He also noted that new bilateral research agreements with international universities have expanded the institute’s global footprint and led to more joint publications, further boosting its rankings.
Other Top Indian Institutions
In addition to IIT Delhi and Bombay, only one other Indian institution — IIT Madras — broke into the global top 200, jumping from 227 to 180. This marks its debut in the top 200.
The national top 10 list includes:
- IIT Kharagpur (215)
- IISc Bangalore (219, down from 211)
- IIT Kanpur (222)
- Delhi University (328, unchanged)
- IIT Guwahati (334)
- IIT Roorkee (339)
- Anna University (465, down from 383)
Among the top 10 Indian institutions, five improved their global rankings this year, while four saw declines.
India’s Growing Presence in Global Rankings
India has shown remarkable growth in representation, with 54 institutions making it to the list this year — a 390% increase from 11 institutions in 2015. Eight new Indian universities joined the rankings this year, the highest addition by any country.
Seven of the new entrants are private institutions, including:
- Ashoka University (1201–1400)
- Shiv Nadar University (1201–1400)
- Lovely Professional University (901–950)
- KIIT, Bhubaneswar (1001–1200)
- Christ University, Bengaluru (1401+)
The lone public-sector newcomer was IIT Gandhinagar, placed in the 801–850 band.
QS clarified that this increase stems from a mix of first-time submissions and previously participating institutions now meeting full inclusion criteria.
Metric-wise Indian Standouts
- Citations per Faculty (20% weightage): Eight Indian institutions featured in the global top 100.
- IISc Bangalore led the group at global rank 15
- Anna University ranked 23
- IIT BHU (Varanasi) placed 47
- Employer Reputation (15% weightage):
- IIT Bombay ranked 39 globally
- Five Indian institutions made it to the top 100
- Employment Outcomes (5% weightage):
- Only Delhi University and Mumbai University were in the global top 100
- Academic Reputation (30% weightage):
- No Indian institution entered the global top 100
- Only five Indian institutions improved on this metric: IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, and Chandigarh University.
- VIT held its rank, while most others declined
QS also noted that its newly added Sustainability metric—comprising over 50 indicators—remains in a developmental phase. Data for this indicator are sourced from a mix of university submissions, public databases, surveys, and bibliometrics.
India’s growing footprint in the global higher education landscape is evident, but top-tier rankings remain elusive. Nonetheless, IIT Delhi’s leap this year has been a significant milestone in that journey.