India recorded the highest proportion of improved entries in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2026 released on Wednesday, with 44% of its ranked programmes climbing year-on-year.
As many as 99 Indian institutions, including 20 debutants, featured in the rankings, together making 599 entries—120 more than last year.
Of the 599 entries, 265 improved their position while 80 declined, portending a sharp positive swing unmatched by other large higher education systems.
“India’s rise this year is not just about scale: it’s about momentum in quality and global competitiveness,” said Jessica Turner, chief executive of QS Quacquarelli Symonds. “The breadth of improvement across engineering, technology and business signals a system that is accelerating with intent.”
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According to her, the next phase for Indian institutions will be defined by how effectively they “deepen research strength, build global partnerships, and sharpen their distinctiveness on the world stage.”
The 16th edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject benchmarked over 21,000 academic programmes from 1,900 universities in more than 100 countries, covering 55 disciplines in five broad faculty areas.
India’s gains are most pronounced in engineering and computer science, while arts and humanities remained a weak spot with more entries declining than improving.
India now has six institutions in the global top 100 for computer science, up from two last year, with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and IIT Delhi breaking into the top 50. The country’s overall entries in this subject have doubled over five years, even as the US, the UK, Germany and France have seen declines.
Engineering disciplines saw a similar surge, with five top-100 entries in chemical engineering and six each in electrical and mechanical streams. Four Indian entries are in the global top 50 for mineral and mining engineering. Engineering entries overall have risen 65% in five years, reflecting deeper institutional competitiveness in sectors aligned with India’s manufacturing ambitions.
In business and management studies, seven Indian institutions now feature in the global top 100, up from four last year, led by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad at 21 in marketing, marking India’s first-ever entry in the subject.
“India is excelling in subject areas key for the future,” said Ashwin Fernandes, chair of QS India.
Gains were also visible across sciences and healthcare.
Four Indian institutions entered the top 100 in pharmacy and pharmacology, while the All India Institute of Medical Sciences reached India’s highest-ever rank of 105 in medicine, up from 145 last year.
New subject entries included marketing, library and information management, and veterinary science, signalling an expanding disciplinary breadth.
India recorded 27 top-50 positions across subjects—more than double of 12 in 2024—spread across 12 institutions, highlighting a deepening pool of globally competitive programmes.
Arts and humanities is the only broad faculty area where India’s performance moved in reverse in the latest ranking.
At an institutional level, the gains were led by Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, which delivered the most comprehensive performance with six top-50 entries and leadership across four subjects, including Chemical Engineering (48th) and Electrical & Electronic Engineering (36th), while also recording its best-ever Computer Science rank at 45th.
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur debuted strongly in Petroleum Engineering at 28th and climbed to 22nd in Mineral & Mining, while Indian Institute of Technology Bombay entered multiple top-50 brackets across engineering and computer science disciplines.
Indian Institute of Technology Madras added four top-50 finishes, including a return to the bracket in Civil Engineering, while Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad emerged as the country’s top business school, rising to 21st in Business & Management Studies and debuting at the same rank in Marketing—India’s first-ever entry in the subject.
As many as 99 Indian institutions, including 20 debutants, featured in the rankings, together making 599 entries—120 more than last year.
Of the 599 entries, 265 improved their position while 80 declined, portending a sharp positive swing unmatched by other large higher education systems.
“India’s rise this year is not just about scale: it’s about momentum in quality and global competitiveness,” said Jessica Turner, chief executive of QS Quacquarelli Symonds. “The breadth of improvement across engineering, technology and business signals a system that is accelerating with intent.”
(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)
According to her, the next phase for Indian institutions will be defined by how effectively they “deepen research strength, build global partnerships, and sharpen their distinctiveness on the world stage.”
The 16th edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject benchmarked over 21,000 academic programmes from 1,900 universities in more than 100 countries, covering 55 disciplines in five broad faculty areas.
India’s gains are most pronounced in engineering and computer science, while arts and humanities remained a weak spot with more entries declining than improving.
India now has six institutions in the global top 100 for computer science, up from two last year, with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and IIT Delhi breaking into the top 50. The country’s overall entries in this subject have doubled over five years, even as the US, the UK, Germany and France have seen declines.
Engineering disciplines saw a similar surge, with five top-100 entries in chemical engineering and six each in electrical and mechanical streams. Four Indian entries are in the global top 50 for mineral and mining engineering. Engineering entries overall have risen 65% in five years, reflecting deeper institutional competitiveness in sectors aligned with India’s manufacturing ambitions.
In business and management studies, seven Indian institutions now feature in the global top 100, up from four last year, led by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad at 21 in marketing, marking India’s first-ever entry in the subject.
“India is excelling in subject areas key for the future,” said Ashwin Fernandes, chair of QS India.
Gains were also visible across sciences and healthcare.
Four Indian institutions entered the top 100 in pharmacy and pharmacology, while the All India Institute of Medical Sciences reached India’s highest-ever rank of 105 in medicine, up from 145 last year.
New subject entries included marketing, library and information management, and veterinary science, signalling an expanding disciplinary breadth.
India recorded 27 top-50 positions across subjects—more than double of 12 in 2024—spread across 12 institutions, highlighting a deepening pool of globally competitive programmes.
Arts and humanities is the only broad faculty area where India’s performance moved in reverse in the latest ranking.
At an institutional level, the gains were led by Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, which delivered the most comprehensive performance with six top-50 entries and leadership across four subjects, including Chemical Engineering (48th) and Electrical & Electronic Engineering (36th), while also recording its best-ever Computer Science rank at 45th.
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur debuted strongly in Petroleum Engineering at 28th and climbed to 22nd in Mineral & Mining, while Indian Institute of Technology Bombay entered multiple top-50 brackets across engineering and computer science disciplines.
Indian Institute of Technology Madras added four top-50 finishes, including a return to the bracket in Civil Engineering, while Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad emerged as the country’s top business school, rising to 21st in Business & Management Studies and debuting at the same rank in Marketing—India’s first-ever entry in the subject.
