India is poised to become the second best-represented country in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2026, with only the United States ahead of it, according to Phil Baty, Chief Global Affairs Officer at Times Higher Education.

Baty made these remarks during an event marking five years since the launch of India’s National Education Policy (NEP).

"In the 2026 world rankings, to be released at the World Academic Summit on 8 October this year, India will set new records to be the world's second-best represented country, only behind the US. So, the statistics are plain that India's universities are getting more and more shoulder-to-shoulder with the global research elite of the world."

He also pointed out that Indian universities were performing strongly under a separate set of indicators that measure their social and economic impact.

"But by a further, quite different set of performance metrics by way of their social and economic contribution, India's universities are also beginning to really excel," he added.

The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings assess universities based on their contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These rankings take into account aspects such as teaching, research, community involvement, and how efficiently institutions use their resources, using hundreds of indicators linked to all 17 SDGs.

Baty noted that when the NEP was introduced in 2020, it was seen as highly ambitious and possibly difficult to implement. Yet, five years later, there is growing evidence that the policy is producing results despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"But precisely five years since the NEP 2020 was launched officially, there is an increasing body of independent evidence that, notwithstanding the dramatic disruption of the COVID pandemic, the ambitious vision is fast taking shape."

He added that India’s efforts to improve the quality of higher education and encourage internationalisation were now backed by concrete data.

"Indeed, in terms of ambitions to enhance the quality of higher education and to at last embrace the complete internationalisation of Indian higher education, Times Higher Education's figures are clear the plans are paying off," he said.

Back in 2019, the year before NEP 2020 was introduced, India had 49 universities in the THE rankings, accounting for around four per cent of the total. By the 2026 edition, that figure is expected to reach 128 universities, representing nearly six per cent of all ranked institutions.

"This impressive feat mirrors a country-wide resolve from Indian universities to gather improved data, to stand up and subject themselves to international data benchmarking, to place themselves on the global stage among the best research universities in the world and most importantly to be seen and present within the global academic community, where research collaboration and exchange of talent will assist them further."

He concluded by saying that India was not only increasing its presence in global rankings but also improving the overall academic quality of its institutions.

"And it is not only in representation that India is making outstanding strides. There are also enhancements in quality. So, the evidence is unequivocal that India's universities are rubbing shoulders more and more with the globe's research elite. But according to another, quite different set of performance indicators based on their social and economic contribution, India's universities are beginning to really excel," he stated.