IIT Delhi has been ranked as the top Indian institution in the QS Sustainability Rankings 2026. This edition of the rankings includes 103 universities from India, and 26 of them have been listed for the first time. With this strong presence, India has become the fourth-largest contributor to the global list. Globally, Lund University in Sweden has ranked first among 2,000 universities. 

The rankings were released by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the same organisation known for the popular QS World University Rankings, where the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has held the top position for the 12th consecutive year.

The QS Sustainability Rankings evaluate universities based on how they contribute to environmental and social development, as well as how well they are governed. The assessment is divided into three major categories: Environmental Impact, Social Impact and Governance.

These categories include several indicators such as environmental research, sustainability-focused education, gender equality, employability, and health and well-being. QS analysts used Scopus data to measure research output and carried out global reputation surveys among academics and employers to complete the evaluation.

In the India-specific list, IIT Delhi leads with a global rank of 205 and a score of 83.1. Following it are IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur, which have secured global ranks of 235 and 236 respectively. IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur also performed well, ranking within the top 310 globally. 

Other institutions in the top 10 include IIT Roorkee, VIT Vellore, IISc Bengaluru, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), and IIT BHU Varanasi. All of these universities have earned recognition for their commitment to sustainability research, social initiatives and campus governance.

Globally, the United States continues to dominate the rankings with 240 universities on the list. It is followed by China with 163 universities, the United Kingdom with 109, and India with 103. 

The top of the list is largely occupied by universities from North America and Europe, supported by stronger funding systems, robust governance models and extensive international research collaborations. India’s rising representation in these rankings shows that more universities in the country are focusing on sustainability, social responsibility and long-term development.