India's higher education sector has achieved a significant milestone this year. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has secured the top-spot among Indian universities in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, advancing to the 201–250 rank band. This improvement is brought about as India officially becomes the nation having the second-largest number of ranked universities globally, second only to the United States which is one of the main highlights as confirmed by The Hindu.
IISc tops India's strong performance
The Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences in Chennai stands at the 351–400 band, improving from last year's 401–500 band. Jamia Millia Islamia (Delhi) and Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences (Himachal Pradesh) have both been listed in the 401–500 category, indicating an expanding academic presence to various Indian states.
As a sign of India's increasingly academic environment, institutions like Banaras Hindu University, IIT Indore, KIIT University, Lovely Professional University, Mahatma Gandhi University and UPES Dehradun have made it into the 501–600 band further down the list. More than 15 Indian universities, including Delhi University, Manipal Academy of Higher Education and VIT University, have made their spot in the 601–800 band which shows how prominent the country is becoming in global rankings.
Oxford leads the chart, but Asia glows different
The University of Oxford maintains its supremacy, leading the world rankings for the 10th year in a row. China has also solidified its place with 13 institutions in the top 200 and five in the top 40, an indication of the strong academic performance on the continent. With six universities making it into the top 200 band, Hong Kong has also reached a new high. this has happened largely due to higher teaching metric scores.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 ranked 2,191 universities in 115 nations based on criteria such as teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. India's strong performance this year is a signal of a consistent upward trend in its worldwide academic reputation, one that is built on diversity, innovation and increasing dedication to excellence.
