India has made a powerful mark on the global business education map, with 14 of its premier institutions featuring in the QS Global MBA and Business Master’s Rankings 2026. Among them, three Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have entered the coveted world’s top 100 list, underscoring the country’s growing influence in management education.

IIM Bangalore leads the charge at 52nd place, improving one position from last year, while IIM Ahmedabad has climbed to 58th and IIM Calcutta to 64th. The rankings, released by higher education analytics firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), reflect strong performances in employability, return on investment, and thought leadership.

Beyond the top three, IIM Indore surged into the 151–200 band, while IIM Kozhikode, IIM Udaipur, and XLRI slipped compared to last year. Notably, Woxsen School of Business made its debut in the 201–250 bracket, signaling India’s expanding footprint in global management studies.

Globally, the United States retained its dominance, with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania reclaiming the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2020. Harvard Business School ranked second, MIT Sloan third, and last year’s leader Stanford Graduate School of Business fell to fourth.

Europe’s top performers included HEC Paris (5th) and London Business School (6th), with Oxford’s Said Business School making a remarkable leap to 12th.

QS President Nunzio Quacquarelli hailed India’s rise, noting that all four Indian entries in the global MBA ranking improved their positions — a feat unmatched by any other country. “India is also home to six of the world’s top 50 Master’s in Management programmes, further consolidating its reputation as a rising education hub,” he said.

The 2026 edition evaluated over 390 MBA programmes across 80 countries, based on five parameters: employability, ROI, thought leadership, alumni outcomes, and diversity. While India excelled in employability and alumni impact, diversity remained an area of concern when compared with leading global peers.

As Wharton’s resurgence reshapes the top tier and India’s IIMs continue their steady climb, the 2026 rankings signal a shifting balance of prestige in global management education — one where India’s voice is only getting stronger.