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

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)

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.