New Delhi, November 3: IIT Delhi remains India's highest-ranked university in Asia at 66th place, but it has slipped seven places from 59th a year ago, according to the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027 released by QS Quacquarelli Symonds on Tuesday. All six of India's highest-placed institutions lost ground in this edition, The Indian Express and the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Source: PTI, via Hyderabad Mail (Nov 4, 2026)

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, fell from 64th to 79th, IIT Bombay from 71st to 83rd, IIT Madras from 70th to 85th, IIT Kharagpur from 77th to 90th and IIT Kanpur from 77th to 97th — the steepest fall among India's top-200 institutions, matched only by UPES. The University of Delhi dropped from 95th to 106th and is no longer in Asia's top 100, while Chandigarh University was a rare climber at the top end, rising from 109th to 104th, Careers360 reported.

Source: Careers360 (Nov 3, 2026)

The 2027 edition covers 1,722 universities across 26 higher-education systems, and India's 325 ranked institutions include 34 new entrants. QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter clarified that the 71 per cent figure is the share of India's returning institutions whose rank fell — not a 71 per cent fall in performance — and attributed the movement to rising competition across Asia, Jagran Josh reported.

Source: Jagran Josh (Nov 3, 2026)

Further down the table, IIT Guwahati stands at 120th, IIT Roorkee at 124th and Jawaharlal Nehru University at 128th, while Lovely Professional University improved from 187th to 154th. No Indian institution figures in Asia's top 20; Hong Kong placed five universities in the top ten and Singapore two, The CSR Journal reported.

The picture, analysts note, is mixed rather than a collapse: India widened its presence to a record number of ranked universities and placed one more institution in the top 200 than last year, even as its best-known names slipped against faster-rising rivals elsewhere in Asia.