India has 143 institutions in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, published on 30 September 2026, the second-highest number of any country after the United States, which has 168. None of the Indian institutions is in the top 250. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is the highest placed at joint 254th.

The 2027 edition ranks 2,297 institutions from 118 countries and territories. Method in one line: THE scores research-intensive universities on 17 indicators in five pillars, teaching (29.5%), research environment (29%), research quality (30%), international outlook (7.5%) and industry (4%), drawing on Elsevier Scopus data, its own academic reputation survey and data the universities submit, as set out in its published methodology.

Where Indian institutions sit

After IISc come Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences in the 326-350 band and Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences in the 451-500 band. Jamia Millia Islamia, Lovely Professional University and KIIT University are in the 501-550 band, and Graphic Era University, Banaras Hindu University, Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Amity University, Noida are in the 551-600 band.

That gives India 10 institutions in the top 600, the same as in the 2026 edition, and 27 in the top 800, also unchanged, on TED’s count from THE’s published tables. India has 40 in the top 1,000, against 43 a year earlier. THE now gives individual ranks down to 300 rather than 200, with narrower bands below that, so movements between editions are approximate. In the 2026 edition IISc was in the 201-250 band.

Entries, exits and absences

India’s ranked total rose from 128 in the 2026 edition. Twenty-six Indian institutions are in the 2027 table but were not in the 2026 table, including Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (651-700) and Ashoka University (1601-1800); 22 of the 26 are placed below 1,000. Eleven institutions ranked in 2026 do not appear in the 2027 table, among them Vellore Institute of Technology, BITS Pilani and NIT Tiruchirappalli. THE’s tables do not give reasons. A further 27 Indian institutions are listed as reporters, which THE’s methodology describes as institutions that provided data but were not ranked.

The IITs at Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee and Guwahati do not appear in the 2027 table, ranked or as reporters, and were not ranked in 2026. Five IITs are ranked: Indore (651-700), Patna (701-800), Gandhinagar and Mandi (801-1000) and Ropar (1001-1200).

Pillar scores show a split. Five Indian institutions are in the global top 200 on research quality, led by Saveetha at 34th and Graphic Era at 51st on that pillar. None is in the top 200 on international outlook, where the median score for India’s 143 ranked institutions is 26.7 out of 100. IISc is 70th in the world on teaching and 99th on research environment, but 1,199th on research quality and 1,783rd on international outlook. THE changed the method for its three international measures this year to take account of a country’s population, stating that large countries had been disadvantaged because it is easier for staff and students in small countries to work or study abroad.

What it means

TED analysis: the 2027 table records wider Indian participation rather than movement at the top.

  • Participation, not position: India’s total rose by 15, but its counts in the top 600 and top 800 are unchanged and its top 1,000 count fell by three. The growth sits mainly in the lower bands.
  • Research quality is carrying several institutions: Saveetha, Graphic Era and others rank far higher on the research quality pillar, worth 30% of the score, than overall. THE has said revisions for the 2028 edition will include a cap on self-citations and an adjustment in the research quality metrics, so these positions are the ones most exposed to method change.
  • International outlook stays the weak pillar even after the population adjustment. Recruitment of international students and staff and co-authorship with foreign partners would register there, though the pillar carries only 7.5% of the score.
  • An incomplete benchmark: with seven of the older IITs absent, the table leaves out several of India’s best-known engineering institutions, which funders, regulators and foreign partners using it for comparison need to allow for.