India in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 6,940 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: India lists 6,940 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~2.81% of the SY analytics total), led by Enabling & Strategic Technologies (1,297) and Indian Institute of Science (113).
How many Top 2% scientists are from India?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for India (ind) lists 6,940 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 2.81% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,125, with average h-index near 12.9, across 1,757 distinct institutions.
India is among the Directory’s fastest-growing large national cohorts (~+200% from 2020 to 2026 in this timeline), with Enabling & Strategic Technologies edging Clinical Medicine and a deep IIT / IISc institutional layer.
See also China and the rising-countries growth brief.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in India?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s India country profile (ind, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Sathish, T. (Saveetha School of Engineering; Enabling & Strategic Technologies; global rank 118; ~9,144 citations). The table below uses # in country for order within this national list and Global rank for the scholar’s overall rank_all in the single-year listing.
| # in country | Researcher | Institution | Field | Global rank | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sathish, T. | Saveetha School of Engineering | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 118 | 9,144 |
| 2 | Jonas, Jost Bruno | L.V. Prasad Eye Institute India | Clinical Medicine | 231 | 58,935 |
| 3 | Chatterjee, Sheshadri | Indian Institute of Information Technology, Lucknow | Economics & Business | 419 | 3,724 |
| 4 | Andrade, Chittaranjan | National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences | Clinical Medicine | 606 | 2,256 |
| 5 | Siddique, Rafat | Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology | Built Environment & Design | 706 | 2,908 |
| 6 | Varjani, Sunita J. | University of Petroleum and Energy Studies | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 742 | 6,452 |
| 7 | Garg, Harish | Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology | Information & Communication Technologies | 833 | 3,199 |
| 8 | Pandey, Ashok | Indian Institute of Toxicology Research | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 866 | 8,370 |
| 9 | Ahmaruzzaman, Mohammed | National Institute of Technology Silchar | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 894 | 3,285 |
| 10 | Ray, Partha Pratim | Sikkim University | Information & Communication Technologies | 1,022 | 1,888 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on India analytics.
What are India’s strongest fields?
India’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Enabling & Strategic Technologies with 1,297 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 1,297 |
| Clinical Medicine | 1,250 |
| Chemistry | 917 |
| Information & Communication Technologies | 867 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 685 |
Which institutions lead in India?
The largest institutional cohort in the India profile is Indian Institute of Science (113 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Indian Institute of Science | 113 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Delhi | 103 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur | 84 |
| Vellore Institute of Technology | 77 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee | 73 |
How has India’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, India moved from 2,310 listed scholars (2020) to 6,940 (2026) — a change of 4,630 (~+200%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,310 |
| 2021 | 3,345 |
| 2022 | 3,754 |
| 2023 | 4,623 |
| 2024 | 5,331 |
| 2025 | 6,226 |
| 2026 | 6,940 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 6,940 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 2.81% |
| Avg. citations | 1,125 |
| Avg. h-index | 12.9 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 118 |
| Distinct institutions | 1,757 |
| Leading field | Enabling & Strategic Technologies (1,297) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Sathish, T. (Saveetha School of Engineering; Enabling & Strategic Technologies). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore India on ABS Nexora
- India country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- China Top 2% directory 2026
- Rising countries 2020–2026
- Asia vs Europe vs Americas
- Top countries overview
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does India have in 2026? 6,940 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 2.81% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in India? Enabling & Strategic Technologies, with 1,297 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? Indian Institute of Science, with 113 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did India grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 2,310 to 6,940 listed scholars (~+200%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among India’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Sathish, T. leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live India country page or Analytics on ABS Nexora; numbers refresh with the Directory database. Data source: Elsevier / Stanford–Ioannidis World’s Top 2% Scientists lists via ABS Nexora.