In Focus by The Hindu QS rankings and Indian universities: Are they meaningful or just window dressing?
According to the Union Education Ministry, Indian universities have achieved their best-ever performance in the World University Rankings 2026. The rankings are done by a British company, Quacquarelli Symonds, also known as QS.
The new QS rankings feature a total of 54 Indian universities, which makes India the 4th most represented country, with only the US (192), the UK (90) and China (72) having more universities ranked than India. Among Indian universities, 48% have also
improved their rankings compared to the previous year, with six featuring in the top 250. IIT, Delhi is the highest ranked Indian university in the list, coming in at #123.
The government has claimed that the numbers indicate a revolutionary transformation of India’s educational landscape.
How exactly are the QS rankings arrived at? What idea of the university is being evaluated in these rankings? Are the metrics relevant to the Indian context and Indian students?
Guest: Professor Anita Rampal, former Dean, Faculty of Education, at Delhi University. Anita, welcome to the pod.
Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu
Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
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