Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], June 19 (ANI): Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday lauded India's strongest-ever performance in the QS World University Rankings, with 54 institutions making it to the global list -- a 390 per cent increase over the past decade and the highest growth among G20 countries.

Noting that only 11 institutions were in the list in 2014, Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted the leap to 54 institutions in the last 10 years. He expressed gratitude to India's academic community for the 390 per cent increase in the global ranking over the past decade.

'The results of the QS ranking 2026, a new standard of global ranking, have been released, showing that 54 of India's institutions have made it into the Global 500 category. In 2014, that number was only 11. There has been a leap from 11 to 54 in the last 10 years. I express my gratitude to India's academic community for this achievement. By implementing India's education system based on its knowledge tradition, we will continue to develop India until the middle of the 21st century,' he said.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi, highlighting how India added 43 more universities in the list since 2014, said that the QS World University 2026 Rankings bring great news for our education sector, as the government is committed to furthering research and innovation ecosystems for the benefit of India's youth.

'The QS World University 2026 Rankings bring great news for our education sector. Our Government is committed to furthering research and innovation ecosystems for the benefit of India's youth,' the Prime Minister wrote in a post on X.

India has achieved its strongest-ever performance in the QS World University Rankings 2026, with 54 institutions making it to the global list, a 390 per cent increase over the past decade and the highest growth among G20 countries.

According to QS World University Rankings 2026, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has emerged as the country's top-ranked institution, securing the 123rd spot globally -- a jump of 27 places from last year's position of 150.

IIT Bombay and IIT Madras followed at 129th and 180th, respectively. Notably, IIT Madras entered the global top 200 for the first time.

The rankings, released by global higher education analysts QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), cover over 1,500 universities from 106 countries and territories. India is now the fourth most represented country, behind only the United States (192), the United Kingdom (90), and Mainland China (72). (ANI)