In the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, released last week, even though India added 137 institutes to the list, taking its total to 294 (second highest after China’s 395), two concerning areas were:
1. There was no Indian institute in the top 50; and
2. Seven IITs – Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Roorkee, and Guwahati – as well as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore saw a drop in their positions.
But a deep dive into the metrics reveals a success story: India has emerged as Asia’s undisputed leader in research productivity.
Papers per Faculty
In the ‘Papers per Faculty’ component of the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, there are 16 Indian universities in the top 30, 26 in the top 50, and 45 in the top 100. QS says this component measures the volume of research publications against the size of a university’s academic staff.
Mainland China has only six universities in the top 30 when it comes to Papers per Faculty, 14 in top 50, and 30 in the top 100 – if you include Hong Kong and Macao, there are 33 universities in the top 100, far lower than India’s 45.
Is it important?
While the overall QS rankings consider parameters such as Academic and Employer Reputation, Faculty-Student Ratio, International Research Network, Citations per Paper, International Faculty, and Inbound and Outbound Exchange Students, the Papers per Faculty indicator zeroes in on research productivity, and calculates the average number of research papers published per academic staff member. Strong performance of Indian institutes in this category suggests that Indian academics are publishing extensively.
Staff with PhD
This is another area where India leads Asia, with 39 universities in the top 100 – as against China’s 14. A high proportion of ‘Staff with PhDs’ underscores a foundational investment in highly qualified academic talent.
Not all are IITs
While IITs are India’s top institutes, when it comes to research productivity, some lesser-known names have come up. Asia’s most research-productive institution is the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT) in West Bengal. This, in a way, showcases that research excellence isn’t solely the domain of a select few, centrally-funded institutions.
Following the MAKAUT is the Bharathiar University in Coimbatore (second-most most research-productive university in Asia), followed closely by the IISc Bengaluru at third, Anna University in Chennai at fifth, and IIT Madras at seventh.
These are followed by Savitribai Phule Pune University (12th), IIT Guwahati (14th), IIT Delhi (17th), IIT Roorkee (18th), IIT BHU Varanasi (21st), Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam (22nd), IIT Kharagpur (23rd), Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai (24th), IIT Indore (25th), Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (26th), and IIT Ropar (27th).
This performance reflects the policy shifts over the past decade. The QS analysis itself points to the tangible impact of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, with its emphasis on fostering a research-intensive environment at Indian institutes.
But is it enough?
Education analysts view this achievement as a positive sign. “Even though broader challenges such as limited physical and academic infrastructure remain, these two indicators show that Indian institutes are strengthening research output,” said an analyst. “But academicians should aim at publishing in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, instead of publishing frequently regardless of significance, just because there is peer or institutional pressure.”
As Indian institutes rise up the ranks – or fall, as happened in QS Asia 2026 – they must keep in mind that research should translate into real-world impact, faculty development, and institutional reputation, instead of number of papers in any publication.