QS Rankings 2026: Why India’s Top IITs are Still Missing from the Top 100

The Upward Climb: Small Wins in a Big Race

The development of the higher education system in India has always seen an equal amount of progress being made alongside it. In the current ranking chart, it can also be witnessed that the university at 150th position IIT Delhi has managed to improve itself by 27 ranks in terms of global ranking and it stands at the 123rd spot. This has become the most notable achievement for any Indian university regarding a double-digit rank ever witnessed. It follows IIT Bombay at 129th position, followed by IIT Madras that has also improved up to the 180th place.

There has not been any lag in the response of the Government towards this new entry of India into the global scenario. It is worth noting that while only 11 universities were participating in the global ranking process back in 2014, this number has now grown to more than five times the initial figure, totaling 55 universities. The credit for this phenomenal increase goes to NEP 2020 and Institutions of Eminence Scheme.

The Barriers to Entry: Why the Top 100 is Out of Reach

Despite the momentum, the “Global Top 100” remains dominated by American, British, and increasingly, East Asian universities from China and Singapore. Analysts point to several critical metrics where Indian universities consistently underperform:

• Student Faculty Ratio (FSR): This could be seen as being the most critical negative factor in this case. While there is a comfortable and cozy learning atmosphere in institutions such as MIT or Oxford, even the premier institutes of India, IITs, were having problems because of large classroom sizes and lack of skilled teaching staff, which made them receive lower scores in a very important parameter.
• Internationalization: An international perspective is among the most crucial factors considered for ranking universities all over the world. While India has become well known for being a leader in the export of students, there is still a dearth of foreign students due to stringent visa requirements, less salaries paid to foreign faculty members, and ineffective international marketing strategies.
• Research Impact and Citations: While Indian scholars produce quite a bit in terms of research, they have failed to do well in the “citizens per faculty” parameter.
• Financial and Infrastructure Investments: Another requirement of being part of one of the top institutions is substantial financial investment. Although there has been an increase in the investment in the education sector each year, the investment amount remains relatively small compared to the endowment funds of billions of dollars at the Ivy League schools or the government’s investments in the development of infrastructure at educational institutions in China.

A Growing Divide Between Subjects and Institutions

On the contrary, taking into account the attention paid to ranking in specific disciplines creates an entirely new situation. For example, the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi succeeded in achieving the 50th position in five engineering disciplines in the QS subject ranking for 2026, and the discipline of Electrical Engineering holds the 36th place globally. Thus, it seems that India can indeed produce engineers of exceptional quality; however, the “multi-disciplined” aspect needs further development.

Additionally, the information concerning 2026 reflects the increasing gap between the best IITs and other state institutes. Although the status of technical universities continues to rise in the rankings, there are other institutions that have not done well because their curriculum has become outdated.

The Path Forward: Vision 2047

Inconsistently failing to make the top 100 university list in the country has made many people question whether ranking is an important issue that India should pay attention to. While some educators do not find ranking as an important issue since it does not take into account the responsibility of educating the millions of Indians in the nation, others believe that it is essential for India to work towards becoming a Vishwa Guru by 2047, just like Stanford and Cambridge Universities.

A dual approach has been suggested by experts to fill up the rank shortfall of 23, which will enable the Indian universities to make it into the Top 100 Universities of India list. This includes attracting candidates from abroad as well as an entire overhaul of the existing system of recruiting teachers. It would not be possible for India to make it into the Top 100 list until the issue of teacher-student ratio is resolved.

Also Read: Ronald H. Spector, Author of ‘Eagle Against the Sun,’ Dies at 83