Top Indian universities for Top 2% scientists 2026: IISc, IIT Delhi, and IIT Kharagpur
Live Directory analytics: Indian Institute of Science lists 113 India Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year snapshot, ahead of IIT Delhi (103) and IIT Kharagpur (84).
Which Indian universities have the most Top 2% scientists?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s India country profile (ind, single-year 2026), the largest institutional cohort is Indian Institute of Science with 113 listed Top 2% scientists. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi follows with 103, then Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur with 84, Vellore Institute of Technology with 77, and Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee with 73.
India lists 6,940 Top 2% scientists in this snapshot (~2.81% of the single-year country-analytics cohort of 247,376), across 1,757 distinct affiliations — rank 8 of 170 countries by count. This page is the institution cluster post; the national overview is the India Top 2% directory hub.
Top Indian institutions by listed Top 2% scientists
Affiliation coding follows the underlying Elsevier / Stanford–Ioannidis file. Indian Institute of Science (113) is the densest campus row. The IIT system is split by campus — do not add IIT Delhi + IIT Kharagpur + IIT Bombay into one “IIT” total. Saveetha School of Engineering, home of the country’s #1 listed scholar, is a 59-scholar affiliation, not a volume leader on this table.
Indian Institute of Science Top 2% scientists
Indian Institute of Science lists 113 scholars (average citations about 656; best global rank 1,465). The institution mix is physics- and technology-led: Physics & Astronomy (30), Enabling & Strategic Technologies (24), then Engineering (18).
Leading IISc profiles in the institution top_researchers panel:
| Researcher | Field | Global rank | Citations (all) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desiraju, Gautam R. | Chemistry | 1,465 | 2,220 |
| Dasgupta, Chandan I. | Physics & Astronomy | 4,197 | 1,728 |
| Ramaswamy, Sriram | Physics & Astronomy | 7,793 | 1,457 |
| Basu, Bikramjit | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 11,936 | 1,850 |
Open the live Indian Institute of Science institution page to verify counts. Desiraju is also #3 on India’s career top_researchers panel (career rank 358).
IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, and VIT
| Institution | Listed scholars | Leading profile (single-year) |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Institute of Technology Delhi | 103 | Kar, Arpan Kumar (rank 1,732) |
| Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur | 84 | Singh, Ajay (rank 7,113) |
| Vellore Institute of Technology | 77 | Maddikunta, Praveen Kumar Reddy (rank 16,258) |
IIT Delhi’s mix is Enabling & Strategic Technologies (34) and Engineering (23). IIT Kharagpur leans Engineering (24). VIT splits Enabling (23) and ICT (22). Kar’s 6,026 citations at IIT Delhi are the strongest citation total among these three campus leads.
IIT Roorkee, IIT Bombay, AIIMS Delhi, and IIT Madras
| Institution | Listed scholars | Leading profile (single-year) |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee | 73 | Mittal, Sparsh (rank 6,009) |
| Indian Institute of Technology Bombay | 72 | Jangid, Radhey Shyam (rank 6,255) |
| All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi | 61 | Sagar, Rajesh (rank 21,952) |
| Indian Institute of Technology Madras | 61 | Selvaraj, Vimalraj (rank 11,554) |
AIIMS New Delhi is a hospital-research footprint: 60 of 61 listed scholars are in Clinical Medicine. Average citations on that institution profile are about 2,404 — much higher than IISc’s 656 — and Sagar’s 24,423 citations sit far above his composite rank (21,952). Do not fold AIIMS into an IIT or IISc total.
Saveetha School of Engineering — where the country’s #1 scholar sits
Saveetha School of Engineering lists 59 scholars and has the best institutional best_rank in this India file: Sathish, T. at global rank 118 (Enabling & Strategic Technologies / Materials; 9,144 citations). Other Saveetha Engineering names in that panel include Venkatesh, R. (rank 1,091) and Vickram, A. S. (rank 1,226). The sibling affiliation Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences also lists 59, led by Xavier, Joseph Raj (rank 3,042). Treat those two Saveetha strings as separate rows.
The national #1 listed scholar does not sit at IISc or an IIT. See India top researchers.
Career listing: IISc and the IIT core grow; VIT and Saveetha drop out of the top slice
The career India listing is a smaller national file (3,897 scholars across 1,184 institutions), but the IIT / IISc core is larger on that listing: IISc 139, IIT Delhi 114, IIT Kharagpur 97, IIT Madras 81, IIT Bombay 73, IIT Roorkee 62, and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur 55. Jadavpur University (48) enters that career top slice. VIT and both Saveetha rows do not. Always state the listing.
How to use these university counts
- Treat each affiliation string as the dataset wrote it (IIT Delhi ≠ IIT Bombay; Saveetha School of Engineering ≠ Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences).
- Switch single-year vs career on the institution page — career India totals 3,897 scholars; single-year totals 6,940.
- Open a scholar profile, then the certificate page if you need a printable overlay.
- For journal-level context when you cite their papers, use the Journal Quality Report.
India cluster and related Directory pages
- India Top 2% universities 2026 (this page)
- India top researchers 2026
- India self-cited scientists 2026
- India field strengths 2026
- Find, verify, and cite an India Top 2% scientist
- India Top 2% directory 2026 (hub)
- Bangladesh Top 2% universities 2026
- Bangladesh Top 2% directory 2026
- USA Top 2% universities 2026
- United States Top 2% directory 2026
- Journal Quality Report on ABS Nexora
- Directory home
- Directory search
- India country analytics
- Analytics workspace
FAQ
Which Indian university has the most Top 2% scientists in 2026? Indian Institute of Science, with 113 listed scholars in the India single-year country profile.
How many Top 2% scientists does IIT Delhi have? 103 at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in this snapshot.
Is Saveetha School of Engineering the largest Indian campus on the list? No. Saveetha School of Engineering is the affiliation of the country’s #1 scholar (Sathish, T.), but it lists 59 scholars — behind IISc, five IIT campuses, VIT, and AIIMS Delhi.
How many Top 2% scientists are at IIT Bombay or IIT Madras? 72 at IIT Bombay and 61 at IIT Madras in the single-year snapshot.
Where do I verify an IISc Top 2% name? Open Directory search, the Indian Institute of Science institution page, or a scholar URL such as Desiraju, Gautam R..
Does Stanford issue the Top 2% list as a diploma? No. The source is the Ioannidis / Elsevier standardized citation-indicator database. ABS Nexora certificates are a Directory overlay — see how to find, verify, and cite.
How does the India university mix compare with Bangladesh or the United States? Bangladesh’s largest campus row is University of Dhaka (22); the USA’s is Harvard Medical School (1,131). IISc’s 113 sits between those scales. Field mix differs — see India field strengths, the Bangladesh universities cluster, and the USA universities cluster.