NIRF Rankings 2026 Release Date: Check Past Years Trends & Categories Covered

NIRF Rankings 2026 release date is yet to be announced. NIRF Rankings are expected soon in September. Check categories covered

NIRF Rankings 2026 Release Date

NIRF Rankings 2026: National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings 2026 are awaited by students, colleges and higher education institutions. The Ministry of Education has not announced  official release date for NIRF Rankings 2026 yet. However, the rankings are expected to be released shortly.

NIRF rankings are released annually by Ministry of Education (MoE) to assess and rank higher education institutions across different categories and subject domains. NIRF rankings 2026 help students compare institutions based on factors including teaching and learning resources, research, graduation outcomes, inclusivity and perception.

NIRF Rankings 2026 Release Date

As of September 8, 2026, Ministry of Education has not officially announced NIRF Rankings 2026 release date. NIRF 2026 data submission process has already been completed. As per official NIRF portal, data submission for India Rankings 2026 began on January 6, 2026, and closed on March 16, 2026. 

NIRF Rankings: Check Past Years' Release Dates

Students can check release timeline has varied considerably in recent years. The previous release dates of NIRF rankings are

NIRF Rankings 2026: Categories Covered

NIRF has expanded since first NIRF Rankings were released in 2016. Major categories include

• Overall

• Universities

• Colleges

• Research Institutions

• Engineering

• Management

• Pharmacy

• Medical

• Dental

• Law

• Architecture and Planning

• Agriculture and Allied Sectors

• Innovation

• Open Universities

• Skill Universities

• State Public Universities

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

NIRF framework has continued to add new categories over years. For example, State Public Universities and Open Universities were among the categories introduced in recent editions, while the SDGs category was introduced in 2025.

How Are NIRF Rankings Prepared?

NIRF rankings are not based on a single factor. NIRF evaluates institutions using several parameters. These include Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI), and Perception.