സ്റ്റാൻഫോർഡ്-എൽസെവിയർ പട്ടിക: ലോകത്തെ മികച്ച ശാസ്ത്രജ്ഞരിൽ ഇന്ത്യൻ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങൾക്ക് വൻ നേട്ടം

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has the highest number of researchers from an Indian institution in the 2026 edition of the Stanford-Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists list. IISc has 139 researchers in the career-long list, followed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi with 114, IIT Kharagpur with 97, IIT Madras with 81, and IIT Bombay with 73.

A total of 3,898 researchers affiliated with Indian institutions feature in the 2026 career-long list, across 1,185 institutions. The list, prepared by researchers associated with Stanford University and published by Elsevier, uses standardised citation indicators to assess the impact of scientific work. The figures represent researchers associated with each institution, rather than a direct measure of its overall research output.

The list includes several other public universities and research institutions. IIT Roorkee has 62 researchers, followed by IIT Kanpur with 55. Jadavpur University has 48 researchers, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has 44, and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has 40. The University of Delhi has 38, while IIT Guwahati has 37.

Where India's top 2% scientists work

Researchers from Indian institutions on the 2026 Stanford-Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists list

# Institution Researchers 1 Indian Institute of Science

139

2 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

114

3 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

4 Indian Institute of Technology Madras

5 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

6 Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

7 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

8 Jadavpur University

9 Banaras Hindu University

10 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

11 University of Delhi

12 Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

13 Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR)

14 Vellore Institute of Technology

15 Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi

16 All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

17 Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh

18 University of Hyderabad

19 Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani

20 Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata

21 Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad

22 Aligarh Muslim University

23 Panjab University

24 Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

25 Jamia Hamdard

26 Siksha O Anusandhan (Deemed to be University)

27 SRM Institute of Science and Technology

28 Indian Institute of Chemical Technology

29 Institute of Chemical Technology

30 National Institute of Technology Rourkela

31 Amity University

32 Homi Bhabha National Institute

33 ICAR - Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi

34 Jamia Millia Islamia

35 Jawaharlal Nehru University

36 Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science

37 Indian Council of Medical Research

38 Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences

39 National Chemical Laboratory India

40 Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology

41 National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology

42 National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli

43 Pondicherry University

44 Saveetha School of Engineering

45 University of Calcutta

46 Central Food Technological Research Institute India

47 Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research

48 University of Petroleum and Energy Studies

49 Indian Institute of Technology Indore

50 National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Mohali

51 Punjab Agricultural University

52 Savitribai Phule Pune University

53 Bharathiar University

54 Central Electrochemical Research Institute India

55 Graphic Era (Deemed to be University)

56 Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

57 L.V. Prasad Eye Institute India

58 Lovely Professional University

59 National Metallurgical Laboratory India

60 The University of Burdwan

61 Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology

62 Indian Institute of Technology Mandi

63 Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

64 Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar

65 Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur

66 University of Madras

67 Anna University

68 Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University

69 Central Drug Research Institute India

70 Chitkara University, Punjab

71 Delhi Technological University

72 DRDO Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory

73 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune

74 Indian Institute of Technology Patna

75 Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology

76 Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad

77 National Aerospace Laboratories India

78 Punjabi University

79 Sharda University

80 Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai

Grand total3,898

Source: Stanford-Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists list, 2026

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Other institutions with representation include the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), with 35 researchers each. IIT (BHU) Varanasi has 33, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, has 30, and the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, has 29. The University of Hyderabad has 27 researchers, while the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, has 24.

Other institutions featuring in the list include the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, which reported that 29 faculty members and one research graduate, Srimanta Patra, currently serving as a DST-INSPIRE Faculty at IIT Guwahati, featured in the 2026 list. Nineteen researchers from the institute were recognised in the career-long impact category.

Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) reported 34 faculty members on the global roster, including 33 from KIIT and one from the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), with 13 securing places in the career-long impact index.

Private universities and deemed-to-be universities also feature in the data. Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani has 24 researchers, while SRM Institute of Science and Technology and Siksha O Anusandhan have 20 each. Amity University has 18, and Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences has 17.

How the list assesses researchers

The database uses Scopus citation records and a composite citation score, or c-score, that accounts for indicators such as citations, the h-index, co-authorship and authorship position. The assessment is conducted across 22 broad scientific fields and 174 sub-fields.

The database publishes separate lists for career-long citation impact and single-year performance. The career-long list reflects citation impact over a researcher's career, while the single-year list focuses on performance during a specific period. The two datasets therefore measure different aspects of research impact and should not be treated as interchangeable rankings.