IISc Bengaluru, 5 IITs slip positions in a year

The institution secured the 66th position across Asia. However, it slipped seven places from last year’s 59th rank.

London-based global higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds released the latest regional rankings on Tuesday. The results revealed broad declines among India’s top higher education institutions.

The Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru dropped 15 places to finish at 79th rank. IIT Bombay fell to 83rd place from its previous 71st position.

IIT Madras slipped to 85th, while IIT Kharagpur moved down to 90th position. IIT Kanpur recorded the steepest decline, falling 20 places to 97th.

Despite these drops, all six premier institutions maintained their positions within Asia’s top 100 universities. India also expanded its overall footprint in the regional survey.

A total of 325 Indian universities featured in the 2027 rankings. This marks a notable increase from the 294 institutions listed in the previous edition.

The nation added 34 new entrants this year. Consequently, India remains Asia’s second most represented higher education system after Mainland China.

This institutional expansion reflects growing national participation in global academic benchmarking exercises. However, falling scores among top performers highlight ongoing competitiveness challenges.

QS evaluates universities across 11 key performance indicators. Academic reputation carries the highest weightage at 30 percent, followed by employer reputation at 20 percent.

Other metrics include faculty-student ratios, research citations, international research networks, and campus internationalization. Top Indian institutions consistently show strong research productivity but struggle with international engagement.

The latest rankings present a contrasting performance landscape. India widened its overall institutional presence across Asia while losing rank momentum among its elite centers of learning.