India has achieved its best-ever performance in the QS World University Rankings 2026, with 54 universities making it to the global list—up from 46 in 2025 and just 11 in 2014. This milestone places India fourth globally, after the US, UK, and China, highlighting its growing strength in global higher education.
IIT Delhi emerged as India’s highest-ranked institution, rising to 123rd, followed by IIT Bombay (129th) and IIT Madras (180th), which entered the top 200 for the first time. Education experts, including Dr. V. Kamakoti (IIT Madras) and Dr. Ashwin Fernandes (QS Asia), hailed the achievement as a reflection of India’s academic transformation and its vision to become a developed nation by 2047.
