In the latest edition of the QS World University Ranking released early Thursday morning, around 50 per cent of Indian universities' ranking has improved from last year, with IIT Delhi gaining the top spot in India. Globally, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retained the 'best institute in the world' position for the 14th time this year. QS World University Rankings 2026: Full list of institutes This year, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) has climbed from 150 in 2025 to 123 in the 2026 rankings. IIT Delhi has climbed more than 70 places in two years, ranking at 123rd this year compared with 197th in 2024 and 150 in 2025. IIT Bombay, which was ranked at first in the 2025 rankings, is placed at the second position in QS World University rankings among the Indian institutes. It is ranked at 129th globally this year. Last year, it was ranked at 118th. IIT Madras has achieved the third spot in India followed by IIT Kharagpur and IISc Bangalore in the fourth and fifth ranks. University of Delhi is ranked at 328th rank this year. Last year, the central university made the biggest improvement by jumping 79 ranks - from 407 in 2024 to 328 in 2025. One of the biggest improvements has been made by the IIT Madras which jumped from 227 in 2025 QS World University Rankings to 180 in 2026 – a jump of 47 ranks. Rank in India 2026 Rank 2025 Rank Change Institution 1 123 150 27 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) 2 129 118 -11 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) 3 180 227 47 Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) 4 215 222 7 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) 5 219 211 -8 Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore 7 328 328 0 University of Delhi 19 668 801-850 14 Birla Institute of Technology and Science 27= 801-850 801-850 0 University of Hyderabad 29= 851-900 901-950 1 Manipal Academy of Higher Education - Manipal University (MAHE) 29= 851-900 1001-1200 3 O. P. Jindal Global University (JGU) 38= 1001-1200 1001-1200 0 Banaras Hindu University (BHU) QS World University Rankings 2026: How did India perform India’s top two highest-ranking institutions perform better than more than 91% of institutions featuring in the QS World University Rankings 2026. IITD has climbed more than 70 places in two years, ranking at =123rd this year compared with 197th in 2024. This has been due to outstanding results in Employer Reputation (where it now ranks 50th), Citations (86th), Sustainability (172nd), and Academic Reputation (142nd). QS World University Rankings 2025: Indian Institutes Overall Rank in 2026 IIT Delhi 123 IIT Bombay 129 IIT Madras 180 IIT Kharagpur 215 IISc 219 IIT Kanpur 222 University of Delhi 328 IIT Guwahati 334 IIT Roorkee 339 Anna University 465 Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences 503 IIT Indore 556 JNU 558 IIT BHU 566 Savitribai Phule Pune University 566 Chandigarh University 575 IIT Hyderabad 664 Mumbai University 664 Birla Institute of Technology and Science 668 Jadavpur University 676 Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 691 Symbiosis International (Deemed University) 696 National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli 731-740 Jamia Millia Islamia 761-770 Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology 771-780 University of Calcutta 771-780 IIT Gandhinagar 801-850 University of Hyderabad 801-850 Manipal Academy of Higher Education - Manipal University (MAHE) 851-900 O. P. Jindal Global University (JGU) 851-900 Lovely Professional University (LPU) 901-950 Panjab University 901-950 Saveetha Institute of Medical And Technical Sciences (SIMATS) 901-950 University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) 901-950 Amity University 951-1000 Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University 951-1000 IIT BBS 951-1000 AMU 1001-1200 Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham 1001-1200 BHU 1001-1200 Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology 1001-1200 SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRM University) 1001-1200 Ashoka University 1201-1400 Chitkara University 1201-1400 Galgotias University 1201-1400 Osmania University, Hyderabad 1201-1400 Pondicherry University 1201-1400 Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology 1201-1400 Shiv Nadar University 1201-1400 Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), SOA 1201-1400 CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru 1401+ Indian Institute of Information Technology - Allahabad 1401+ Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 1401+ Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS) 1401+ With eight new institutions added to the ranking this year, India now has 54 institutions included, making it the fourth most represented country behind only the US (192 institutions), the UK (90 institutions) and Mainland China (72 institutions). No other country or territory has seen as many universities added to the ranking this year. Jordan and Azerbaijan are second-most improved and have both seen six added in 2026. QS World University Rankings 2026: Global rankings The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retains its top position for the 14th consecutive year. It is followed by Imperial College London in second place and Stanford University in third. The United States continues to be the most represented country, with 192 universities featured in the rankings, and sees more of its institutions rise in rank than fall in this edition. Germany also experiences a positive shift, with more universities improving their positions than declining, reversing a recent downward trend. Italy makes a historic breakthrough, entering the global top 100 for the first time as Politecnico di Milano secures the 98th position. China continues its upward trajectory in global education rankings. Peking University maintains its 14th place, while Tsinghua University rises to 17th, and Fudan University makes a significant leap of nine places to rank 30th — highlighting the country's strong research-led momentum. Hong Kong SAR is recognised as the world’s second most improved higher education system in this edition among countries with five or more ranked universities, with only Ireland showing greater improvement. QS World University Rankings 2026: Top 10 2026 Rank 2025 Rank Institution Location 1 1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States of America 2 2 Imperial College London United Kingdom 3 6 Stanford University United States of America 4 3 University of Oxford United Kingdom 5 4 Harvard University United States of America 6 5 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 7 7 ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Switzerland 8 8 National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore 9 9 UCL (University College London) United Kingdom 10 10 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States of America QS World University Rankings, published annually by London-based global higher education analytics firm Quacquarelli Symonds, assess universities based on multiple performance indicators - academic reputation, faculty-student ratio, research impact, international student diversity and graduate employability. For the 2026 World University Rankings, International Student Diversity (ISD) is introduced as an unweighted indicator. The International Student Diversity indicator looks at the ratio of international students to overall students as well as the diversity of nationalities that those students are from. Over 1,500 universities are included in the 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings. To be eligible for the inclusion in the World University Rankings in 2026, institutions in the following regions - Arab Region, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean were needed to be ranked in their respective region's ranking. This has changed from the previous requirement for an institution to be ranked in the top 50 per cent in their regional ranking.
