Are India’s private universities hacking global rankings?

NOVICE INSTITUTES BETTERTHAN ESTABLISHED IISC, IITs IN ‘RESEARCH QUALITY’

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

IN MOST GLOBAL rankings — such as QS and ARWU (Shanghai Ranking) — IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) are the best India has to offer to the world. But the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026 throw up a strange picture — the best is the IISc (201-250 rankband), followed by lesser-known institutes like Saveetha Institute (351-400), Jamia Millia (401-500), Shoolini (401-500),and BHU (501-600).

But a startling trend that raised eyebrows amongst academics is that these novice institutes posted ‘Research Quality’ scores that rival the likes of Oxford, Cambridge, and Yale, and far surpass IISc and IITs.