India’s higher education institutions witnessed unprecedented rise in QS global university rankings 2016, with 54 institutions making to the list.

In 2014, there were only 11 Indian universities which made it to the list. With this India has emerged as the fastest-growing G20 nation in the QS World University Rankings, with a phenomenal 390% growth over the past decade.

The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) has been featured among the top 125 institutions in the world by the QS World University Rankings (QSWUR) 2026. IIT Delhi’s global ranking has seen a significant jump from the earlier 150th position to the current 123rd rank.

This is also the highest QS World University Ranking achieved so far by the Institute. Moreover, according to the QSWUR 2026, released on Thursday, IIT Delhi has emerged as India’s No. 1 educational institute.

Prof Vivek Buwa, Head of the Rankings Cell and Dean of Planning at IIT Delhi, while speaking about IIT Delhi’s remarkable rise in the QSWUR 2026, said, “It’s a proud moment for IIT Delhi. I would like to congratulate present and past faculty members, students, 64,000+ alumni, the Ministry of Education (Govt. of India), and all the stakeholders who have contributed to this success. These rankings help to introspect and to identify areas that require further improvements. With the efforts of all the stakeholders, IIT Delhi has been continuously improving its rank on several parameters and has a strong potential to be in the top 100 world universities.”

IIT Bombay has slipped to 129th rank this year from 118th in 2024.

Other Indian institutions which are top performers include IIT Kharagpur (215), IISc Bengaluru (219), and IIT Kanpur (222).

Massachusetts Institute of Technology has topped the chart for the 14th year followed by Imperial College London (second), Stanford University (third) and University of Oxford (fourth) and Harvard University (fifth).