The 2026 edition of the Stanford-Elsevier World’s Top 2% Scientists list features researchers from several Indian institutions, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), multiple Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Jadavpur University.
The database identifies researchers whose published work has made a significant impact in their respective fields, using standardised citation-based indicators. The list covers a range of scientific disciplines and provides a measure of researchers’ influence within the global academic community.
According to published reports, 3,898 Indian researchers feature in the 2026 career-long impact list, representing 1,185 academic institutions. IISc Bengaluru leads Indian institutions with 139 researchers, followed by IIT Delhi with 114 and IIT Kharagpur with 97.
IIT Madras has 81 researchers on the list, while IIT Bombay has 73. IIT Roorkee and IIT Kanpur have 62 and 55 researchers, respectively. Jadavpur University features with 48 researchers, followed by Banaras Hindu University with 44.
The list is compiled by researchers associated with Stanford University and published by Elsevier. It uses data from Scopus, a research abstract and citation database, to assess the influence of scientific publications. The indicators include total citations, the h-index, co-authorship adjustments and authorship position. The assessment spans 22 broad scientific fields and 174 sub-fields.
The database publishes two distinct lists: one measuring career-long citation impact and another assessing research performance during a single year. These datasets measure different aspects of scientific influence and should not be treated as interchangeable rankings.
The inclusion of researchers from public universities, specialised research centres and private institutions reflects the breadth of India’s research ecosystem. Institutions such as the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research and Vellore Institute of Technology have 35 researchers each on the career-long list, while the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, has 33.
The list offers an indication of researchers’ citation impact, although citation-based measures alone do not capture every aspect of research quality, originality or wider social contribution.
