Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: INDIA marked a milestone in Asian higher education as the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2026 placed seven of its institutions among the continent’s top 100, the same number as last year, yet a testament to resilience amid fiercer regional competition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to his official X platform to celebrate what he called a record leap in Indian higher education.
“Our government is committed to ensuring quality education for our youth, with a focus on research and innovation,” PM Modi wrote, adding that New Delhi is building institutional capacities by enabling more educational institutions across the country.
The Indian Institute of Technology- Delhi retained its crown as the country’s finest, climbing to 59th place with a score of 78.6, buoyed by soaring employer reputation and a surge in high-impact research citations. Close behind, the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore held 64th (76.5), followed by IIT Madras at 70th (75.1), IIT Bombay at 71st (75.0), and IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur sharing 77th (both 73.4).
The University of Delhi rounded out the septet at 95th with 68.5, signalling that India’s academic prestige now extends beyond the storied IIT network into the realm of comprehensive public universities.
Across Asia, the University of Hong Kong seized pole position, nudging Peking University into second. Singapore’s National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University shared third, while Fudan University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and City University of Hong Kong filled the next rungs, underscoring the stranglehold of Hong Kong, mainland China, and Singapore on elite status.
