Lok Sabha Question No. 1490 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Indian Universities in QS Asia University Rankings, 2025
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Baijayant Panda

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1490 ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026

## Indian Universities in QS Asia University Rankings, 2025

## 1490.  Shri Baijayant Panda :

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

- (a) the total number of Indian universities ranked in the QS Asia University Rankings, 2025;
- (b) the remedial steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to improve these factors in universities responsible for failure to qualify in the said rankings; and
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  expand  international  collaboration  and  research funding  to  further  strengthen  India's  position  in  global  rankings  and  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ( DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR )

(a)  to  (c):    The  representation  of  Indian  Higher  Education  Institutions  (HEIs)  in  QS  Asia University  Rankings  (QS  AUR)  has  improved  significantly  over  the  years.  From  100 institutions ranked in 2020, the number increased steadily to 163 in 2025. Further, in the latest edition of the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, released in November 2025, the number of Indian HEIs has risen to 294.

To enhance the quality of higher education, the Government of India (GoI) has undertaken several measures for the provision of quality infrastructure, strengthening of the research and innovation ecosystem, promotion of industry-academia linkages which inter-alai include the following:

- i. In addition to the budgetary support being provided to the Centrally Funded Higher Education Institutions, the GoI provides financial support to State Governments also under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)/ Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) scheme under three components namely, 'Enhancing Quality and  Excellence  in  select State Universities', 'Infrastructure Grants  to Universities' and 'Multi-Disciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU)' for improvement in Higher Education.
- ii. With an objective of Research & Development driven integration of academic, industry and enterprise creation, Research Parks have been set up in premier HEIs to establish research  ecosystem around these institutions. These research parks facilitate funded research from Industry, promoting Industry-Academia collaborations.
- iii. To attract the best minds to pursue high - quality research in India's premier academic institutions,  the  Government  launched  Prime  Minister's  Research  Fellows  (PMRF) Scheme in 2018-19 with total financial outlay of Rs. 1650 Crores. To promote research activities in HEIs, more than 6000 HEIs have set up Research and Development Cells.
- iv. In  alignment  with  the  principles  of  NEP  2020,  the  Anusandhan  National  Research Foundation  (ANRF),  has  been  established  as  an  apex  body  to  provide  high-level strategic direction for research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the fields of natural sciences including mathematical sciences, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences, health and agriculture.
- v. The GoI has approved the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) scheme to expand access  to  scholarly  journals  to  a  vast  diaspora  of  students,  faculty,  researchers  and scientists of all disciplines, of all HEIs and Research & Development centers. More than 6300 such institutions are covered under this scheme. A total of about Rs. 6,000 crore has been allocated for the scheme for 3 calendar years, 2025, 2026 and 2027.
- vi. To conduct interdisciplinary  research,  develop  cutting-edge  applications,  and  create scalable solutions in three areas of health, sustainable cities and  Agriculture, Government  has  approved  establishment  of  three  Centre  of  Excellence  (CoE)  in Artificial  intelligence  (Al),  one  each  in  the  areas  of  health,  sustainable  cities  and agriculture with a total financial outlay of Rs. 990.00 Cr over the period of FY 202324 to FY 2027-28. An AI CoE in field of Education with an outlay of Rs. 500 crores has been sanctioned in IIT Madras.
- vii. The 'Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education' Scheme has been approved for implementation in 275 technical institutions comprising 175 engineering institutions and 100 polytechnics. The objective of the scheme is to improve  the  quality,  equity  and  governance  in  technical  education  covering  all States/UTs  by  implementing  interventions  aligned  with  the  National  Educational Policy-2020  (NEP-2020).  It  is  a  'Central  Sector  Scheme'  with  total  financial implication of Rs.4200 crore for a period from 2025-26 to 2029-30.

For promotion  of internationalization of Higher Education the University Grants Commission (UGC) has notified UGC (Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions to offer Twinning, Joint Degree, and Dual Degree Programmes) Regulations, 2022. These Regulations aim to encourage Indian HEIs to enter into academic collaboration with Foreign HEIs.

The UGC has also notified the UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Education Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023 to promote internationalization of Indian higher education to enable Indian students to obtain foreign qualifications at affordable cost, and to make India an attractive global study destination. The UGC has issued 14 Letters of Intent (LoIs) to foreign HEIs from Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America to establish campuses across India, including Bengaluru (Karnataka), Delhi NCR, Mumbai (Maharashtra), and Chennai (Tamil Nadu).

Overseas campuses of Indian HEIs have also been established, viz. campus of  IIT, Madaras at Zanibar; IIT, Delhi at Abu Dhabi and IIM, Ahmedabad at Dubai.