Parliament Question: Indian Universities in QS Asia University Rankings, 2025

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1490 ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026 Indian Universities in QS Asia University Rankings, 2025 1490. Shri Baijayant Panda: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) the total number of Indian universities ranked in the QS Asia University Rankings, 2025; (b) the remedial steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to improve these factors in universities responsible for failure to qualify in the said rankings; and (c) whether the Government proposes to expand international collaboration and research funding to further strengthen India’s position in global rankings and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (c): The representation of Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in QS Asia University Rankings (QS AUR) has improved significantly over the years. From 100 institutions ranked in 2020, the number increased steadily to 163 in 2025. Further, in the latest edition of the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, released in November 2025, the number of Indian HEIs has risen to 294. To enhance the quality of higher education, the Government of India (GoI) has undertaken several measures for the provision of quality infrastructure, strengthening of the research and innovation ecosystem, promotion of industry–academia linkages which inter-alai include the following: i. In addition to the budgetary support being provided to the Centrally Funded Higher Education Institutions, the GoI provides financial support to State Governments also under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)/ Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) scheme under three components namely, “Enhancing Quality and Excellence in select State Universities”, “Infrastructure Grants to Universities” and “Multi-Disciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU)” for improvement in Higher Education. ii. With an objective of Research & Development driven integration of academic, industry and enterprise creation, Research Parks have been set up in premier HEIs to establish research ecosystem around these institutions. These research parks facilitate funded research from Industry, promoting Industry-Academia collaborations.iii. To attract the best minds to pursue high - quality research in India's premier academic institutions, the Government launched Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme in 2018-19 with total financial outlay of Rs. 1650 Crores. To promote research activities in HEIs, more than 6000 HEIs have set up Research and Development Cells. iv. In alignment with the principles of NEP 2020, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), has been established as an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction for research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the fields of natural sciences including mathematical sciences, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences, health and agriculture. v. The GoI has approved the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) scheme to expand access to scholarly journals to a vast diaspora of students, faculty, researchers and scientists of all disciplines, of all HEIs and Research & Development centers. More than 6300 such institutions are covered under this scheme. A total of about Rs. 6,000 crore has been allocated for the scheme for 3 calendar years, 2025, 2026 and 2027. vi. To conduct interdisciplinary research, develop cutting-edge applications, and create scalable solutions in three areas of health, sustainable cities and Agriculture, Government has approved establishment of three Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial intelligence (Al), one each in the areas of health, sustainable cities and agriculture with a total financial outlay of Rs. 990.00 Cr over the period of FY 2023- 24 to FY 2027-28. An AI CoE in field of Education with an outlay of Rs. 500 crores has been sanctioned in IIT Madras. vii. The ‘Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education’ Scheme has been approved for implementation in 275 technical institutions comprising 175 engineering institutions and 100 polytechnics. The objective of the scheme is to improve the quality, equity and governance in technical education covering all States/UTs by implementing interventions aligned with the National Educational Policy-2020 (NEP-2020). It is a ‘Central Sector Scheme’ with total financial implication of Rs.4200 crore for a period from 2025-26 to 2029-30. For promotion of internationalization of Higher Education the University Grants Commission (UGC) has notified UGC (Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions to offer Twinning, Joint Degree, and Dual Degree Programmes) Regulations, 2022. These Regulations aim to encourage Indian HEIs to enter into academic collaboration with Foreign HEIs. The UGC has also notified the UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Education Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023 to promote internationalization of Indian higher education to enable Indian students to obtain foreign qualifications at affordable cost, and to make India an attractive global study destination. The UGC has issued 14 Letters of Intent (LoIs) to foreign HEIs from Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America to establish campuses across India, including Bengaluru (Karnataka), Delhi NCR, Mumbai (Maharashtra), and Chennai (Tamil Nadu). Overseas campuses of Indian HEIs have also been established, viz. campus of IIT, Madaras at Zanibar; IIT, Delhi at Abu Dhabi and IIM, Ahmedabad at Dubai. *****