The Miss Universe India title is a national selection: the winner goes on to represent India at the international Miss Universe pageant. The 2026 edition is the 75th, to be held in Puerto Rico in November 2026 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan. The reigning titleholder going into it is Fatima Bosch of Mexico, who won the 74th edition held in Thailand on 21 November 2025 and who will crown her successor. India has won the Miss Universe crown three times: Sushmita Sen in 1994, the first Indian ever to do so; Lara Dutta in 2000; and Harnaaz Sandhu in 2021. That lineage is part of why the judging panel drew attention - Sushmita Sen sat on it, as did Rhea Singha, who held the Miss Universe India title in 2024, and Celina Jaitly, a former Miss India title-holder. Mejo, who is from Mavelikkara in Kerala's Alappuzha district, said the win followed more than three years of preparation.