Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the dramatic rise of Indian universities in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, calling it a “record leap” for Indian higher education. Over the past decade, India’s representation has grown 1,125 per cent — from just 24 universities in 2016 to 294 this year.

Taking to X, PM Modi said, “Our government is committed to ensuring quality education for our youth, with a focus on research and innovation.” He added that the government is building institutional capacity to empower educational institutions across the country.

India now stands second only to China (395 universities) in the rankings, with 137 new entrants this year. Notably, five Indian universities feature among Asia’s top 10 for papers per faculty, and 28 made it to the top 50, underscoring India’s growing research strength.

Leading the Indian contingent, IIT Delhi climbed to 59th, followed by IISc Bangalore (64th), IIT Madras (70th), IIT Bombay (71st), IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur (77th), and Delhi University (95th).

While the University of Hong Kong took the top spot, followed by Peking University and NUS Singapore, India’s strong showing marked a decade of transformation driven by the National Education Policy (NEP) and government-backed innovation.

QS CEO Jessica Turner praised India’s rapid progress, crediting the NEP for creating “globally relevant and locally empowering” capacity. She noted that India’s next challenge lies in boosting international faculty, student diversity, and digital-age learning.

Despite minor dips in absolute rankings for some IITs, India’s education sector has achieved historic representation — signaling a new phase in the nation’s academic rise.