NEW DELHI, July 15 — Revealing a strong endorsement of India’s growing appeal in global higher education, four Indian metropolises — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai — have secured spots in the QS Best Student Cities 2026 rankings, with Delhi earning the distinction of being the most affordable city in the world for students.
As per the rankings released by London-based global higher education consultancy QS Quacquarelli Symonds on Tuesday, all four Indian cities have improved their standings from last year. Mumbai re-entered the global top 100, climbing 15 places to rank 98th. Delhi rose seven spots to 104th, while Bengaluru made a dramatic leap of 22 ranks to secure 108th position. Chennai advanced 12 places to be ranked 128th.
In addition to affordability, Indian cities scored high on employability. Delhi and Mumbai broke into the global top 50 in the Employer Activity index, which assesses perceptions of graduate employability. Bengaluru registered a sharp improvement in the same category, rising 41 places to 59th, and Chennai moved up 29 ranks, signaling enhanced industry recognition of its graduates.
“Mumbai and Bengaluru also performed strongly on the affordability metric, placing within the global top 15,” QS said, highlighting India’s emerging status as a cost-effective yet opportunity-rich destination for students.
Jessica Turner, CEO of QS, said the upward momentum coincides with the impact of India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. “Its focus on global engagement, quality enhancement, and student-centric learning is starting to bear fruit on the international stage,” she noted.
The 2026 QS Best Student Cities ranking covers 150 cities globally, each with a population over 2,50,000 and at least two universities featured in the QS World University Rankings. It evaluates cities based on six key metrics: University Rankings, Student Mix, Desirability, Employer Activity, Affordability, and Student Voice — with over 1,00,000 student survey responses shaping two of the indices.
Globally, Seoul claimed the top spot this year, displacing London, which slipped to third due to a steep drop in affordability — falling 11 places to 137th in that category.
