NIRF Rankings 2025: IIT Madras, IISc, Hindu College, IIM Ahmedabad Lead Across Categories in 10th Edition
From just 4 categories in 2016 to as many as 17 categories in 2025, participation in NIRF Rankings has quadrupled as over 14,000 institutions applied this year.
IIT Madras has topped in Engineering, Overall Category of NIRF India Rankings 2025
The Union Ministry of Education today released the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) India Rankings 2025, marking the 10th edition of the Rankings which assesses higher education institutions across the country. Without any major changes in comparison to the NIRF India Rankings 2024, this years rankings once again cemented the dominance of the IITs, IISc Bengaluru, top central universities, IIMs and leading colleges across categories.
In the Overall category of NIRF Rankings, IIT Madras retained its leading position, followed by IISc Bengaluru and IIT Delhi. In the University Rankings, IISc Bengaluru continued to lead, with Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) at second and third spot. Among colleges, Hindu College (Delhi University) has secured the top Rank, overtaking Miranda House (DU), which has been topping the NIRF Colleges Ranking for the last few years.
NIRF Rankings in 10 Years
What started with just 4 categories in 2016 has now expanded to as many as 17 categories in the year 2025. Participation of institutions across categories has also grown significantly:
2016: 3,565 applicants, 2,426 unique institutions
2025: 14,163 applicants, 7,692 unique institutions
Commonly asked questions
To get admission at IIT Madras for MTech courses, candidate must qualify the GATE exam. The IIT Madras GATE Cutoff 2024 for the General AI candidates was ranged between 492 and 877. Therefore, it is quite likely that at the cutoff of 700-750, candidate can get admission to MTech courses. However, the choice of course would depend on the last-round closing rank of that particular course.
Both IIT Bombay and NIFT Mumbai are recognised for their BDes course. For better comparison, below are some parameters to compare BDes programme of both the institutes:
| Parameter | IIT Bombay | NIFT Mumbai |
|---|---|---|
| Total tuition fee* | INR 8 Lacs - INR 11.6 lakh | INR 5.6 Lacs - INR 11.7 lakh |
| Overall NIRF Ranking 2023 | 4 | NA |
| Specialisation | Industrial Design, Communication Design, Animation, etc. | Fashion Design, Fashion Communication, Textile Design, etc. |
| Selection criteria | UCEED | NIFT Entrance Exam |
*The fee is taken from an unofficial source. Hence, data might vary.
The following table mentions a comparison between both these top colleges of DU for their undergraduate courses in the field of Arts and Humanities:
College Name |
BA Fee Range |
Median Salary (UG 3-year) |
|---|---|---|
Hindu College |
INR 52,680 - INR 52,770 |
INR 6.4 LPA |
Miranda House |
INR 42,480 - INR 51,240 |
INR 6 LPA |
Based on the details mentioned in the above table, it can be concluded that both these colleges are equally good and candidates can go for any of the two options where they qualify for admission. However, there is a minute difference in between the course fee and salary that the BA/ BA (Hons) passouts get after completing this course. But the gap is too small to be considered in rating a college better than the other. Miranda7 Hindu College with other colleges here.
This growing number also reflects increasing acceptance of the NIRF rankings but also the increasing competition among institutions to showcase their strengths.
Top Institutions by Category (2025)
NIRF Overall: IIT Madras, IISc Bengaluru, IIT Delhi
NIRF University: IISc Bengaluru, JNU, MAHE, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi University
NIRF Colleges: Hindu College, Miranda House, Presidency College Chennai, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, St. Xavier’s College Kolkata
NIRF Engineering: IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur
NIRF Management (MBA): IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Calcutta, IIT Delhi (DMS)
NIRF Medical: AIIMS New Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh, Christian Medical College Vellore
NIRF Dental: Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth
NIRF Law: National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bengaluru, NLU Delhi, NALSAR Hyderabad
NIRF Pharmacy: Jamia Hamdard, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Panjab University
NIRF Agriculture & Allied Sectors: Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Punjab Agricultural University
NIRF Architecture & Planning: IIT Roorkee, National Institute of Technology Calicut, School of Planning and Architecture New Delhi
Innovation, Skill, Open University, and State Public Universities also saw repeat leaders from 2024.
Parameters and Methodology
The NIRF rankings are based on five core parameters:
Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR)
Research and Professional Practice (RP)
Commonly asked questions
The National Law School of India University Bangalore is a Tier-1 Law School of India. Officially it can be called the top Law School of India as it was ranked 1st by the National Institute Ranking Framework or NIRF 2025 under the Law category.
IISc Bangalore has been ranked 1 and 2 by the NIRF 2023 Rankings under the 'University' and 'Overall' categories, respectively. The NIRF ranking is better than most of the IITs. Also during IISc placements 2023, the highest package offered was INR 85 LPA and the average package offered was INR 28 LPA. Moreover, IISc Bangalore is the only institute that considers the scores of JEE Advanced for admission to its B.Tech course except all the IITs.
Faculty of Law, University of Delhi is considered among the premier institutes in the country for law programmes. The institute was ranked 9 among all Law Institutes in India by NIRF in 2025. It also attained rank 7 by IIRF in 2025.
Graduation Outcomes (GO)
Outreach & Inclusivity (OI)
Perception (PR)
In the NIRF Rankings 2025, the Education Ministry has introduced negative marking for paper retractions, as it has been a major challenge. Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman of the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), said that institutions found guilty of repeated retractions may face stricter penalties, including being barred from future rankings.
Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Higher Education, also cautioned institutions against using NIRF rankings merely as a marketing tool. He stressed that the rankings are intended to help students identify strengths of institutions in different areas.
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Abhay Anand is an experienced education journalist with over 15 years in print and digital media. Currently serving as Manager- Editorial at Shiksha.com, he specializes in higher education policy, student mobility,
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