ICAR institutes debut in QS Rankings 2026; IVRI in top 100 for veterinary science, IARI enters list

Two premier institutions of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have, for the first time, found a place in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, a milestone that puts India's agri research universities on the global academic map. According to the agriculture ministry, the ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, has secured a place in the 51-100 band in Veterinary Science, making it the only Indian institution to feature among the world's top-100 in that category.

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, has debuted in the 151-200 band in Agriculture and Forestry. QS World University Rankings, released Tuesday by UK-based analytics firm QS Quacquarelli Symonds, assessed over 21,000 academic programmes across more than 1,900 universities worldwide, use parameters, including academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, and international research network. In the agriculture and forestry category, 10 Indian universities figured among 475 institutions ranked globally. Along with IARI, the 151-200 band includes Banaras Hindu University, University of Delhi, and IIT Kharagpur.

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Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) appeared in the 201-250 band, while Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, made its first-ever appearance in the 301-350 band. ICAR Director General M L Jat said the rankings reflect the institutions' "sustained multidimensional contributions" to basic and applied science in agri-food and health systems, and their integrated model combining fundamental research, translational science, and field-level outreach.

The rankings come weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a Chief Secretaries' conference in December 2025, stressed the need to develop skilled human capital as a central plank of the Viksit Bharat agenda. ICAR functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.