NEW DELHI: The University of Delhi has improved its position in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026, rising 58 places from 299 to 241 globally.
“The achievement comes in a year when competition intensified sharply, with the number of participating universities increasing from 1,744 to 2,002. With this performance, DU now ranks among the Top 4 institutions in India and Top 36 in Asia, and is the only Indian institution within the national Top 5 to improve its position this year,” the Vice-Chancellor said on Wednesday.
According to the released rankings, India placed fourth globally in representation, with over 100 Indian universities featured in the list.
Of the 103 institutions included, 32 improved their rankings from last year, while 30 saw a drop.
None of the Indian universities made it to the Top 200.
IIT Delhi emerged as the top-ranked Indian institution at 205, slipping from last year’s 171. IIT Bombay followed at Rank 235 and IIT Kharagpur at 236.
DU registered strong gains across all three major pillars of the QS Sustainability Rankings — Environmental Impact, Social Impact and Governance — reflecting broad-based improvement in its academic and institutional performance.
In the Environmental Impact category, DU made a significant jump, raising its score from 69.0 to 80.6.
A standout improvement was in Environmental Education, where the university leapt from Rank 388 to 53 — a rise of 335 places, one of the biggest national gains.
DU also improved in Environmental Research, moving from 664 to 616, indicating stronger sustainability-linked research output and alignment with SDGs.
The university also recorded progress in the Social Impact pillar, moving from Rank 478 to 435 globally, with its score rising from 69.9 to 77.4.
These gains were driven by improvements in Knowledge Exchange (91.8 to 96.5), Employability & Opportunities (68.5 to 80.3).
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh said the rankings underline DU’s commitment to environmental responsibility, social equity and ethical governance.
He added that improved sustainability-focused research, stronger collaborations, enhanced student wellbeing measures and IoE-funded initiatives contributed to the university’s upward movement.
The story is reported by Ifrah Mufti for The New Indian Express
