The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings were released on September 4, 2025, by the Ministry of Education. This annual exercise evaluates Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country on multiple parameters, offering a structured and transparent assessment of academic performance.
Strong ranking enhances credibility, attracts high-quality students and leading recruiters, and strengthens prospects for research funding and international collaborations. For institutions, securing a higher position is both an acknowledgment of academic excellence and a strategic advantage in an increasingly competitive higher education landscape.
Key Highlights: IITs & IIMs Retain Their Supremacy
This year rankings reaffirm the continued leadership of India’s premier institutions across categories. In the Overall Category, IIT Madras has once again secured the top position with a score of 87.31, followed by IISc Bangalore and IIT Bombay. 4 other IITs, including IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, and IIT Roorkee, featured in the top 10, underscoring their sustained dominance.
Coming to Engineering, IIT Madras again retained its lead, with IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay in second and third place, while IIT Hyderabad ranked seventh, improving by one position.
IIM Ahmedabad retained the top spot, followed by IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode, while IIT Delhi’s Department of Management Studies also figured among the leaders in management. Whereas IIM Calcutta slipped to 7th from last year’s 5th.
IISc Bangalore ranked as the top university, with JNU and Manipal Academy of Higher Education ranked second and third, followed by Jamia Millia Islamia and the University of Delhi.
Among colleges, Miranda House, University of Delhi, secured the first position, ahead of Hindu College and Presidency College, Chennai and Loyola College fell back to 14th position, slipping further down by 6 positions this year.
AIIMS New Delhi retained its premier status, with PGIMER Chandigarh and Christian Medical College, Vellore completing the top three. BITS, Pilani climbed up 12 positions from 19th to 7th and VIT slipped to 14th from the previous year’s 10th.
Notable Mentions
In the Open Universities category, IGNOU retained the top position, followed by Karnataka State Open University and U.P. Rajarshi Tandon Open University.
The Skill Universities category was led by Symbiosis Skills and Professional University, with Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences second and Shri Vishwakarma Skill University third, slipping one place from last year.
Among State-Funded Government Universities, Jadavpur University secured the top rank, ahead of Anna University and Panjab University.
About NIRF and Its Ranking System
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was established in 2015 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (now the Ministry of Education) with the aim of bringing greater transparency and benchmarking to higher education in India.
Rankings are awarded after evaluating institutions across five broad parameters: Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI), and Perception (PR).
Read how NIRF scoring is awarded to institutions.
