Yesterday, Tuesday, November 18, London-based QS Quacquarelli Symonds announced its QS World University Rankings for Sustainability 2026, revealing that India, with 103 universities, ranked fourth on the list, trailing only the United States, China, and the United Kingdom.
It is also worth noting that no Indian institution has broken into the global top 200 in the list. Despite having 103 universities featured, Indian higher-education institutes perform worse in comparison to their global peers, Indian Express reports.
The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi) is the highest-ranked Indian institution in the QS Sustainability Rankings 2026, but it dropped to 205th place, down from 171 in the 2025 edition. IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur follow it, tied at the 236th place, which is a decline in ranks for both institutions.
Other prominent Indian institutes have also seen drops, including IIT Madras (now 305th), IIT Kanpur (310th), and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), which fell dramatically to 462nd place.
Sweden's Lund University won first place with a perfect total score of 100, while the University of Toronto finished second with a score of 99.8. University College London ranked third.
Here's a glimpse at the rankings of the Indian universities:
IIT Delhi secured 205th position with an overall score of 83.1
IIT Bombay ranked 235th with a score of 81.4
IIT Kharagpur secured 236th rank with 81.3
IIT Madras at 305th rank with 77.3
IIT Kanpur at 310th rank with 78.0
IIT Roorkee at 352nd rank with 74.9
IIT (BHU) Varanasi at 672nd rank with 62.5
IIT Hyderabad at 792nd rank with 58.7
IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Guwahati also featured in the list.
The QS Sustainability Rankings 2026 assess universities on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, including research related to sustainable development goals, academic reputation in sustainability education, and alumni impact in this field.