Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a global education group, today released its Asia University Rankings 2026. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi is the top Indian institution on this list, securing the 59th position . This year, a record 294 Indian colleges and universities have made it to the ranking, a big jump from 148 last year. However, many leading Indian institutions, including IIT Delhi, saw their individual ranks go down compared to last year's results.
Top Indian Colleges in Asia Rankings
IIT Delhi is India's highest-ranked college in Asia. It stands at 59th place . Last year, it was at 44th place. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore is the second highest, ranked 64th , down from 50th. IIT Madras holds the third spot for India at 70th position , a drop from 53rd last year.
Other Indian institutions also featured in the top 100 in Asia are:
- IIT Bombay at 71st place (was 46th)
- IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur both at 77th place (were 63rd and 66th respectively)
- University of Delhi at 95th place (it did not have a top 100 rank last year)
Indian Institutions in QS Asia University Rankings (Top 200)
| Institution | 2026 Rank | 2025 Rank |
| IIT Delhi | 59 | 44 |
| IISc Bangalore | 64 | 50 |
| IIT Madras | 70 | 53 |
| IIT Bombay | 71 | 46 |
| IIT Kanpur | 77 | 63 |
| IIT Kharagpur | 77 | 66 |
| University of Delhi | 95 | -- |
| IIT Roorkee | 114 | 100 |
| IIT Guwahati | 115 | 121 |
| VIT Vellore | 156 | -- |
India's Growing Presence in Asia
Even though some top colleges saw their ranks drop, India's overall presence in the rankings has grown a lot. This shows that more and more Indian higher education institutions are doing well in Asia. The number of Indian colleges on the list has more than doubled, from 148 to 294 .
This growth also includes private and state universities. Institutions like Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, VIT Vellore , and Manipal Academy of Higher Education have improved. They are doing better in research and working with other academic bodies.
The QS report stated that 7 Indian institutions are in the top 100 in Asia. Also, 20 are in the top 200, and 66 are in the top 500. India also leads in Asia for having staff with PhD degrees.
Asia's Top Performers
The National University of Singapore (NUS) remains the top-ranked university in Asia. China's Peking University and Tsinghua University followed in second and third places. India is the third most represented country in the QS Asia rankings. China and Japan have more universities on the list than India.
The rankings provide a look at how universities perform across different areas like academic reputation, employer reputation, student-faculty ratio, and research output. While individual rank changes are normal, India's overall growth in the number of ranked institutions highlights its increasing role in Asian higher education.
