QS and Primus Partners Join Forces to Transform India's Education and Skills Landscape

QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited, a globally recognised provider of analytics and advisory services to the higher education sector, has entered into a strategic partnership with Primus Partners Private Limited, a leading Indian management consulting firm. The two organisations formalised their collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in New Delhi on June 19, 2026.

The agreement establishes a joint consulting venture targeting the government sector across India. Both organisations will work together to identify and execute high-impact advisory projects focused on the country's education and skills development priorities.

The partnership combines QS's internationally established capabilities in higher education rankings, institutional benchmarking, and cross-border education strategies with Primus Partners' extensive experience in education policy, workforce development, and public sector implementation within India. Together, they aim to tackle critical challenges in India's education and skilling ecosystem.

Under the collaboration, the two firms will provide strategic guidance to central and state government ministries on reshaping higher education institutions and establishing accreditation systems that align with India's National Education Policy framework. Additionally, they will support state governments, skill development agencies, and industry associations in creating talent development programmes that meet contemporary market demands.

The partnership harnesses QS's internationally validated research and data on labour market trends alongside Primus Partners' established connections with government decision-makers and proven expertise in managing complex policy initiatives involving multiple stakeholders across India.

Dr Ashwin Fernandes, Chair of QS India and Vice President for Strategic and International Engagement at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, highlighted the significance of the collaboration: "India's skilling and innovation agenda is moving at remarkable scale and matching that ambition takes both global perspective and deep local execution. Our partnership with Primus Partners unites QS' global insight into emerging skills and workforce transformation with Primus's ability to turn strategy into outcomes on the ground – helping governments build talent that is globally competitive and locally transformative."

Primus Partners emphasised the complementary nature of the alliance. The firm stated: "At Primus Partners, we have long believed that India's education and skilling transformation requires both rigorous policy thinking and world-class benchmarking. This MoU with QS is a natural coming together of two organisations that share that conviction. Whether it is supporting a state government design a skilling mission, helping a university chart its internationalisation roadmap, or advising a ministry on higher education reform, our combined capabilities will allow us to deliver programmes that are truly differentiated — grounded in evidence, informed by global best practice, and built for Indian contexts."