The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has the highest number of researchers in the 2026 Stanford-Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists list. IISc got 139 researchers on the career-long list. Many IITs and Jadavpur University also featured prominently. In total, 3,898 researchers from Indian institutions made it to this prestigious global list.
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.