- India shows sharp rise in engineering and computer science in QS 2026 rankings
- IIT-ISM Dhanbad and IIM Ahmedabad lead India with global rank of 21
- Six Indian institutions rank in global top 100 for computer science
The latest QS World University Rankings by Subject for 2026 shows a sharp rise in India's performance in engineering and computer science, even as disciplines like humanities and life sciences lag behind.
Leading India's charge are the Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, both securing the country's highest global rank of 21.
IIT-ISM Dhanbad has retained its stronghold in mineral and mining engineering, while IIM Ahmedabad has broken into the top 25 globally in business and management studies as well as marketing.
Also read | India Doubles Its Top 50 Entries In QS World University Rankings, IITs Lead The Way
The rankings, released by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, highlight what they call "rapid strides" by India in engineering, particularly in computer science, where performance gains have been the most pronounced.
Six Indian institutions now feature in the global top 100 for computer science, all improving from last year. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay leads at rank 44, followed by Indian Institute of Technology Delhi at 45. They are joined by Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Vellore Institute of Technology, the only private Indian university in this elite group.
Also read | IIT Delhi Retains India's Top Spot In Engineering And Technology, Ranks 36th Globally
Overall, India has expanded its footprint in computer science, with 44 institutions ranked this year, up from 42, even as countries like the US, UK, Germany and France have seen a dip in representation.
The broader picture also shows growth. A total of 99 Indian institutions feature in the 2026 rankings, up significantly from 79 last year, placing India fourth globally in terms of representation after the United States, China and the United Kingdom.
But the gains are uneven.
In the arts and humanities, no Indian university has made it to the top 100. University of Delhi is the highest-ranked in this category at 231.
A similar gap persists in life sciences and medicine. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, is India's best performer here, ranked 217 in the broad category, though it performs better in medicine with a rank of 105.
QS notes that while India's premier institutions are gaining ground in STEM fields, they remain well outside the global elite in social sciences and healthcare, largely due to lower research output and fewer international faculty members.
The rankings evaluate nearly 1,900 institutions across more than 100 countries, offering a detailed snapshot of how India is rising, but not evenly, on the global academic stage.
