As many as 12 Indian higher education institutions have secured 27 places among the top 50 in the 2026 QS World University Rankings by subject, nearly double their 2024 tally, even as several top institutes, including five IITs and JNU, saw declines in specific disciplines.
According to the 16th edition of the QS Subject Rankings announced on Wednesday, two Indian institutions – IIT Bombay (44th) and IIT Delhi (45th) – have broken into the world’s top 50 institutions in computer science subjects for the first time.
The Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad, which is ranked 21st globally in Minerals Engineering and Mining, and IIM Ahmedabad, which is ranked 21st in both Business Studies, Management and Marketing, are among the top-ranked Indian institutions.
Despite these gains, the broad college area in ‘Engineering and Technology’ saw several major university rankings fall from 2025. IIT Delhi fell from 26th to 36th in 2025, IIT Bombay fell from 28th to 42nd, IIT Madras fell from 53rd to 62nd, IIT Kharagpur fell from 60th to 64th, and IIT Bombay fell from 28th to 64th. Kanpur from 72nd to 86th in 2026.
In addition, while Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) maintained its strong 26th position in Development Studies, it saw a sharp decline in Politics and International Studies, falling from 75th last year to 95th.
“It is important to note that the rankings are relative and these results do not suggest that IIT-D and IIT-B have not become worse, but rather that their global competitors have improved at a faster pace. For both IITs, the Employer Reputation score declined more than the Academic Reputation Index. This highlights the importance of ensuring graduates have the right skills that employers are looking for. Both saw their Citation Index scores fall this year as well,” QS said in response to HT’s queries.
In the broad field of “Engineering and Technology”, IIT Delhi’s employer reputation score in 2026 is 83.5 out of 100, compared to 87.2 in 2025. Its academic reputation score is 84.9, compared to 85.5 in 2025. IIT Bombay’s employer reputation score in 2026 is 84.3 out of 100, compared to 88.6 in 2025. Its academic reputation score is 85.9, compared to 86.6 in 2025.
The QS World University Rankings by subject cover more than 50 narrow subjects across five broad university areas: Arts and Humanities; Engineering and Technology; Life sciences and medicine. natural sciences; Social sciences and management.
QS uses five indicators for its rankings: Academic Reputation (which measures the reputation of institutions and their programs among academic experts); employer reputation (which measures their reputation among employers); citations per paper (which evaluates the impact and quality of the scientific work of each publication); the H-index (which attempts to measure the productivity and impact of a researcher’s published work); and the International Research Network (which evaluates the institution’s success in establishing and sustaining global research partnerships).
According to QS data, a total of 99 Indian institutions, including 20 debuting institutions, submitted 599 entries across 55 disciplines in the 2026 thematic rankings. This makes India the fourth largest higher education system in the rankings in terms of number of entries, trailing only the US (3,645 entries), the UK (1,919 entries), and China (1,377 entries). Overall, 265 of the 599 entries in India improved in 2026 compared to last year, a 44% improvement rate that is the highest among systems with 10 or more institutions, ahead of the UAE (41%), and the UK, Indonesia and Colombia (40%). While 134 entries remained the same and 80 dropped, there were a total of 120 new entries in the rankings this year.
IIT Delhi is ranked 36th globally, and tops 18 Indian institutions ranked within the broad college field of “Engineering and Technology”. IIT Bombay, ranked 78th globally, leads 22 Indian institutes within the broad college area of ’Natural Sciences’. IIM Ahmedabad, ranked 66th globally, leads 17 Indian institutes in the ‘Social Sciences and Management’ category. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, at 217th position globally, leads the eight Indian institutions in the broad faculty area of “life sciences and medicine”. The University of Delhi, ranked 231st globally, leads the five Indian institutions in the broad college field of ‘Arts and Humanities’.
Dean (Planning) of IIT Delhi and Head of Rankings Cell, Somnath Baidya Roy, said, “IIT Delhi provides world-class, affordable education to students who become leaders in academia, industry, business and government. Although the rankings do not cover the entire scope of our activities, they are certainly an acknowledgment of the hard work we have put in.”
Jessica Turner, CEO, QS Quacquarelli Symonds, said, “India’s rise this year is not just about scale: it is about momentum in quality and global competitiveness. The breadth of improvement in engineering, technology and business points to a system that is accelerating with intent. The next phase will be determined by how effectively institutions deepen research strength, build global partnerships, and increase their differentiation on the global stage.”
BITS Pilani, at 45th position, tops the four Indian institutions in the top 100 in the Pharmacy and Pharmacology subjects category. “BITS Pilani’s performance in the QS 2026 rankings reflects the dedication and spirit of our faculty, researchers and students. It demonstrates our growing leadership in the fields of science, engineering, technology and management, driven by sustained investment in research, innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. This recognition reinforces our resolve to build a globally engaged, research-led university that nurtures talent and creates meaningful impact beyond rankings,” BITS Pilani Group Vice President, V. Ramgopal Rao said.
