NIRF MBA Rankings 2025: Big shifts in Ranking list with IIM Calcutta slipping and IIT Delhi rises in top 5.
The Union Ministry of Education has released the NIRF India Rankings 2025, the 10th edition of the India Rankings that now spans across 17 categories. In the Management (MBA) category of NIRF, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad has once again retained the top spot, it is followed by IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode. In thwe MBA category, a major change this year is IIT Delhi’s Department of Management Studies (DMS) breaking into the top 4, however the IIM Calcutta has slipped to Rank 7 this year.
NIRF MBA Rankings 2025 – Top 10
- IIM Ahmedabad
- IIM Bangalore
- IIM Kozhikode
- IIT Delhi (DMS)
- IIM Lucknow
- IIM Mumbai (formerly NITIE)
- IIM Calcutta
- IIM Indore
- MDI Gurugram
- XLRI Jamshedpur
NIRF MBA Ranking 2022–2025: A Comparative Analysis
| Rank |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
IIM Ahmedabad |
IIM Ahmedabad |
IIM Ahmedabad |
IIM Ahmedabad |
| 2 |
IIM Bangalore |
IIM Bangalore |
IIM Bangalore |
IIM Bangalore |
| 3 |
IIM Calcutta |
IIM Kozhikode |
IIM Kozhikode |
IIM Kozhikode |
| 4 |
IIM Lucknow |
IIM Calcutta |
IIM Calcutta |
IIT Delhi (DMS) |
| 5 |
IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) |
IIM Lucknow |
IIM Lucknow |
IIM Lucknow |
| 6 |
IIM Kozhikode |
IIM Indore |
IIM Indore |
IIM Mumbai (NITIE) |
| 7 |
IIM Indore |
IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) |
NITIE Mumbai* |
IIM Calcutta |
| 8 |
XLRI Jamshedpur |
NITIE Mumbai* |
IIT Delhi (DMS) |
IIM Indore |
| 9 |
NITIE Mumbai* |
XLRI Jamshedpur |
XLRI Jamshedpur |
MDI Gurugram |
| 10 |
IIT Delhi (DMS) |
IIT Delhi (DMS) |
IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) |
XLRI Jamshedpur |
*NITIE Mumbai was granted IIM status in 2023, now named as IIM Mumbai in the Rankings.
NIRF MBA Rankings 2025: Key Takeaways:
Consistently mentaining its top position, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore continue to dominate the NIRF Rankings, maintaining their Rank 1 and Rank 2 respectively, for four consecutive years. A new topper in the MBA list has also come from IITs, with IIT Delhi (DMS) breaking into top five, which was ranked eighth last year. Among the top three IIMs, ABC (IIMA, IIMB, IIMC), IIM Calcutta which has been among the top five of NIRF Rankings has dropped to Seventh Rank this year. NITIE Mumbai, which has been renamed as IIM Mumbai last year, has been consistently imporving its ranking for the past several years and this year it has been grabbed Rank 6. MDI Gurugram and XLRI Jamshedpur are the only two private institute in the top 10 of NIRF MBA Rankings 2025, while IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) has slipped out of top 10.
NIRF Rankings 2025 Parameters
The NIRF Management Rankings are based on five major parameters: Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR); Research and Professional Practice (RP); Graduation Outcomes (GO); Outreach & Inclusivity (OI); and Perception (PR). These reflect not only academic reputation but also research strength, placement outcomes, and inclusivity.
Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman of the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), emphasized strict monitoring of NIRF Rankings and said: “From this year, negative marking for paper retractions has been introduced. Institutions repeatedly indulging in such practices risk being barred.”
Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Higher Education, cautioned against misuse of rankings said: “Some institutions have used NIRF Rankings as a marketing tool. They should instead guide students about areas in which an institution excels.”
Having a good academic profile for IIM admission is very critical. The top 6 IIMs lay a lot of emphasis on Class 10 and Class 12 score for selection of candidates for WAT-PI round. The academic profile is evaluated again at the time of preparation of final merit list. It has been seen in the past that some candidates despite having 99+ percentile, were not selected for PI round due to low score in Class 12.
The academic profile is assessed for academic as well as gender diversity. Which means a candidate who studied Arts in Class 12 may be selected for PI with lower marks than a candidate who studied Science in Class 12.
Candidates aiming for IIMs must know that while the importance of academic profile is very important for top IIMs, it is moderately important for rest of the IIMs. For, other top MBA colleges, overall profile matters more than academic score. So, if you do not have superlative scores in Class 10 and 12, build a good profile with work experience and extra curricular activities to increase your chances of selection.
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