**Executive Summary**
This document addresses Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1432, answered on February 9, 2026, regarding the ranking of Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in global top-100 rankings. It details the Government of India’s efforts to enhance the quality of education in HEIs and provides information on the Institution of Eminence (IoE) scheme. The document highlights India's growing presence in the QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) and provides fund allocation details for the IoE scheme.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Government Initiatives for Higher Education Quality:**
* The Government of India has taken steps to enhance the quality of education in HEIs, including:
* Providing quality infrastructure.
* Strengthening the research and innovation ecosystem.
* Promoting industry-academia linkages.
* **Improvement in International Rankings:**
* These initiatives have led to significant improvements in the performance of Indian HEIs in international rankings, such as the QS WUR.
* In QS WUR 2026, 54 Indian institutions are ranked, marking a growth from 11 in 2015 and the highest ever representation for India.
* Eight Indian institutions have been ranked for the first time, the highest for any country in this edition, within G20 and globally.
* **Establishment of New Institutions:**
* Since 2014, the higher education ecosystem has been augmented by establishing new Central Higher Educational Institutions (CHEIs).
* These include:
* 16 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT).
* 8 Central Universities (CU).
* 8 Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).
* 7 Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).
* 2 Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER).
* 1 National Institute of Technology (NIT).
* **Accreditation and Ranking Mechanisms:**
* The Ministry of Education has instituted robust accreditation and ranking mechanisms through the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
* NIRF launched in 2015, publishes India Rankings annually.
* NBA organizes mentoring workshops to share best practices and acquaint Indian HEIs with the methodology and procedure for participating in International Rankings.
* **Institution of Eminence (IoE) Scheme:**
* The Ministry of Education launched the World Class Institutions scheme in 2017 to grant IoE status to 10 institutions each from the public and private categories.
* Twelve institutions have been notified as IoE so far: 8 public and 4 private.
* Public institutions under IoE are: IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IISc Bangalore, BHU Varanasi, University of Hyderabad and University of Delhi.
* Private institutions under IoE are: BITS Pilani, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, O.P. Jindal Global University and Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida.
* **IoE Funding:**
* Funds are only provided to public institutions under the IoE scheme.
* An amount of Rs 6198.99 Crore (approximately) has been sanctioned for the 08 public institutions since the scheme's inception.
* **Access to Ranking Details:** Details of international rankings are published by the respective ranking agencies on their official websites.
**Impact Analysis**
**Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs)**
* **Impact:** HEIs will be impacted by initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of education, improving rankings, and participating in the IoE scheme.
* **Action Required:** HEIs need to actively participate in accreditation and ranking processes, improve their research and innovation ecosystem, and strive for higher international rankings. The eight public institutions selected for the IoE scheme need to utilize the sanctioned funds effectively.
**Ministry of Education**
* **Impact:** The Ministry is responsible for implementing policies and schemes to improve the quality and ranking of Indian HEIs.
* **Action Required:** The Ministry needs to continue monitoring the progress of HEIs, implement accreditation and ranking mechanisms effectively, and ensure the proper utilization of funds under the IoE scheme.
**Students**
* **Impact**: The quality of infrastructure and education system will see a rise due to new policies.
* **Action Required**: Students need to take advantages of new infrastructure to improve their studies, and enhance their skills.
Key Entities Referenced
Institutions of Eminence (IoE) scheme: A scheme to grant special status and funding to selected higher educational institutions to enhance their global competitiveness.
Ministry of Education: The primary government body responsible for education policies and initiatives in India.
QS World University Rankings (QS WUR): A global university ranking publication used to assess and compare higher education institutions.
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF): A ranking methodology adopted by the Ministry of Education to rank Indian Higher Education Institutions.
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs): A group of premier engineering and technology institutes in India.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1432
ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026
Indian Higher Educational Institutions in Global Top-100 Rankings
1432. Ms Sayani Ghosh:
Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:
(a) the details of Indian higher educational institutions, including universities and Institutes
of National Importance, that have featured within the top 100 positions of major global
university rankings since 2014, ranking-agency-wise, such as QS, Times Higher
Education and ARWU, year-wise and rank-wise;
(b) whether it is a fact that very few or none of the Indian universities have consistently
remained within the top 100 of global university rankings in recent years despite repeated
policy announcements aimed at improving their global competitiveness, if so, the details
thereof;
(c) whether the Government has conducted any assessment to ascertain the reasons for the
continued absence or decline of Indian institutions, including IITs and Central Universities
from the top 100 global rankings and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the details of funds allocated, released and utilised under the Institutions of Eminence
(IoE) scheme since its inception, institute-wise along with expenditure incurred by each
institution?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)
(a) to (c): Government of India has taken a number of steps to enhance quality of education in
Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in the country. These include provision of quality
infrastructure, strengthening of the research and innovation ecosystem and promotion of
industry–academia linkages etc.
The above initiatives have contributed to significant improvements in the performance
of Indian HEIs in international rankings, such as the QS World University Rankings (QS
WUR). A total of 54 Indian Institutions have been ranked in the QS WUR 2026. This is India’s
highest ever representation, marking a growth from 11 institutions in QS WUR 2015 to 54 in
QS WUR 2026. Eight Indian Institutions have been ranked for the first time, which is the
highest number for any country in this edition, both within G20 and globally. Details of
international rankings, including the performance of Indian institutions, are published by the
respective ranking agencies on their official websites.Since 2014, augmentation of Higher Education ecosystem has been undertaken by
establishment of new Central Higher Educational Institutions (CHEIs) in the fields of
Technical Education, Management, Science Education & Research, Information Technology
and Humanities. CHEIs are envisaged to function as pace setter institutions to provide
academic leadership to other institutions in the region. Since 2014, 16 Indian Institutes of
Information Technology (IIIT), 8 Central Universities (CU), 8 Indian Institute of Management
(IIM), 7 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), 2 Indian Institute of Science Education and
Research (IISER) and 1 National Institute of Technology (NIT) have been established.
Further, Ministry of Education has instituted robust accreditation and ranking
mechanisms through National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and the National Institutional
Ranking Framework (NIRF) respectively. NIRF launched in 2015 has been publishing India
Rankings annually, which has galvanised the Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to a
more competitive environment. NBA has also been organising mentoring workshops sharing
best practices and acquainting Indian HEIs with the methodology and procedure for
participating in International Rankings.
(d): Ministry of Education launched the World Class Institutions scheme in the year 2017 to
grant the status of Institution of Eminence (IoE) to 10 higher educational institutions each from
the public and private category and enable them to emerge as world class teaching and research
institutions. Twelve institutions have been notified as IoE so far. These include 08 public
category institutions, namely - IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IISc
Bangalore, BHU Varanasi, University of Hyderabad and University of Delhi and 04 private
category institutions namely - BITS Pilani, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, O.P. Jindal
Global University and Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida. Only public institutions are
provided funds under the scheme. An amount of Rs 6198.99 Crore (approximately) has been
sanctioned for the 08 public institutions since the inception of the scheme.
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