New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi retained its position as India’s highest-ranked university, climbing 5 places to 118th in the QS World University Rankings 2027 released on Wednesday.
IIT Delhi’s rise from 123rd position in 2027 represents a significant improvement as it is the highest position ever achieved by any Indian institution. IIT Bombay fell 5 places to 134th from 129th in last year’s ranking.
Professor Somnath Baidya Roy, Dean, Planning and Head of Rankings Cell, IIT Delhi, said: “IIT Delhi remains committed to the goal of providing affordable, world-class technology education and becoming a preferred destination for scholars across the world. Our revamped curriculum, new infrastructure and increased international engagement will enhance our quality and impact in the years to come. We see rankings as an outcome, not a goal. If we do the right things for the right reasons, rankings will follow naturally.”
The QS World University Rankings 2027 includes 52 Indian universities compared to 54 institutions last year. However, over the past decade, India’s representation in the global rankings has risen from 14 to 52 institutions.
“As a result, India has become the fastest growing G20 country through a relative increase in ranked universities, underscoring the sector’s growing scale, international visibility and global competitiveness,” Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) said in a statement.
Four Indian institutions featured in last year’s edition – CHRIST (deemed to be a university), Bengaluru; Osmania University, Hyderabad; Ashoka University; and Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS) – are absent from the QS World University Rankings 2027. CHRIST, Osmania and MRIIRS all fell below the minimum scores required for inclusion, while Ashoka University did not meet the QS size threshold in terms of reputation and research position to qualify this year. Meanwhile, two Indian institutions – IIT (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad and Bharathiar University, Coimbatore – entered the rankings for the first time.
Of the 52 Indian universities ranked, 26 improved their status, nine remained stable, 15 saw a decline, and two entered the rankings for the first time. The Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, rose 94 places to 597th position, the biggest rise of any Indian university, and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, rose 93 places to 575th position.
“For every Indian institution that fell this year, 1.7 rose; and in the US, five institutions fell for every institution that rose. … Against a global field in which 67% of US-rated institutions and 78% of German institutions fell this year, India’s rate of improvement of 52% is among the strongest of any major system,” QS said.
More than 1,500 institutions in 106 countries and regions were ranked this year. India is now the fifth most represented country in the rankings with 52 institutions, behind the United States (184 institutions), the United Kingdom (93 institutions), mainland China (85 institutions), and Germany (60 institutions). Last year, India was the fourth most represented country with 54 universities.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States retained first place for the fifteenth year in a row. Imperial College London in the United Kingdom and Stanford University in the United States come in second place, followed by Oxford University in the United Kingdom. The top Chinese institution in the rankings is Peking University in 13th place, and the top German university in the rankings is the Technical University of Munich in 25th place.
The QS World University Rankings assess institutions across 10 key indicators including academic reputation, citations per faculty, employer reputation, recruitment outcomes, proportion of international academic staff, international research network, international student diversity, international student ratio, faculty-student ratio and sustainability.
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in London, QS specializes in providing data, research and consultancy services to the international higher education sector.
