QS Asia Rankings 2027: No Indian University In Top 50, IIT Delhi Slips To 66; Know Key Factors Where India Lags

QS Asia Rankings 2027: Asia 2027 was released on Tuesday and ranked 1,722 universities and institutions. No Indian university has made it into the top 50 of the QS Asia University Rankings 2027 for the second consecutive year, with the IITs slipping further. IIT Delhi, India’s best performer, fell seven places to 66th, and only six Indian institutions now remain in the top 100, down from seven.

The setback comes even as India’s representation grew to 325 institutions from 294, making it Asia’s second most represented system after mainland China. QS says the falls mainly reflect tougher competition, with 195 new entrants across Asia, rather than a drop in institutional performance.

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How India’s Top Institutions Fared

The last time an Indian institution featured in the regional top 50 was in 2025, when IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay ranked 44 and 48. Regionally, the University of Hong Kong kept the top spot, followed by Peking University, while Tsinghua rose six places to third.

QS Asis Rankings 2027: Research Strength, Impact Gap

India is Asia’s strongest performer in research output relative to staff numbers. Five Indian universities are in Asia’s top 10 for Papers per Faculty, led by IISc Bengaluru at first. Fifteen Indian universities also share first place in Asia for the share of staff with PhDs.

That capacity has not translated into impact. Only three Indian universities are in Asia’s top 50 for citations per paper, and just one is in the top 10: Shoolini University, at eighth. QS’s Ben Sowter said the challenge is to turn this research capacity more consistently into impact and international recognition.

QS Asis Rankings 2027: Reputation and Internationalisation Lag

Academic and employer reputation together carry 50 per cent of the weight in the rankings, and India trails the regional averages on both.

Overall, 71 per cent of comparable Indian universities declined this year, 18 per cent improved and 11 per cent stayed stable.

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Delhi University: Better Scores, Lower Rank

DU improved on 9 of 11 indicators, including a jump in international students (9.2 to 16.8) and faculty (3.4 to 9.2). It still fell out of the top 100, as slight dips in academic reputation (91.1 to 90.8) and competition from China, South Korea and Southeast Asia pushed the bar higher.

Some institutions did gain. Lovely Professional University climbed 33 places to 154, Symbiosis rose 25 places to 175, and Manipal entered the top 200 at 195. India now has 21 institutions in Asia’s top 200, up from 20 last year.