QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 has released the report today March 25, revealing that the performance of higher education institutions in India. The report continues on the path of steady improvement, especially in the field of engineering and technology.
The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, published by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education analyst, is the largest ever ranking exercise that assessed 21,049 programmes across 1,967 institutions in 100 higher education systems.
India is steadily advancing in the rankings, and top universities such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are achieving notable rankings in individual subjects.
IITs dominate India’s top performers
IIT Delhi makes India proud by featuring at 36 in the list of best in the world in the Engineering and Technology category IIT Bombay also ranked 42. In the rankings released on Thursday, IIT Madras was placed at 62, IIT Kharagpur at 64 and IIT Kanpur at 84 globally in Engineering and Technology.
The rankings validate the dominance of IITs in India’s global standing in higher education, more so in the science and technology domain.
India doubles Top 50 presence
This year’s India has made a strong entry into the global top 50 in THE World University Rankings by subject, which is a major development. The country has more than doubled the number of entries in the global top 50 since 2024, with 27 entries in 12 universities this year. Some of the notable performances have come from the Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad and IIM Ahmedabad.
QS Rankings Content Editor Commenting on the QS World University Rankings by Subject, QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said that the global higher education system is becoming more competitive and more specialised by the day. While countries such as the US and the UK are still leading the way in a wide range of fields, there are a number of emerging systems around the world – including in Asia, where India is beginning to look like a system that is truly on the rise.
STEM continues to drive India’s growth
Compared to other subjects, India’s performance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects is still significantly higher. Engineering and technology has further contributed towards huge improvement in the performance of India in the global ranking. In addition, life sciences and natural sciences have seen an improvement.
Though India has made progress in certain subjects, it continues to trail behind other nations in core subjects such as arts and humanities.
