Gajendra Singh Godara
Sep 6, 2025
12
mins read
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is an annual ranking system for Indian higher education institutions, launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Education (then MHRD) to encourage quality and competition in higher education.
The NIRF 2025 rankings evaluate institutions on metrics like teaching quality, research output, graduation outcomes, inclusivity, and perception, offering a snapshot of India’s higher education landscape. It is essentially a performance index of colleges, universities, and institutes based on objective criteria.
The Ministry of Education released the NIRF 2025 ranking list on September 4, 2025. This 10th edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) saw IIT Madras securing the top spot in the overall category for the seventh consecutive year. IISc Bengaluru claimed the second rank overall, and IIT Bombay came in third. The NIRF 2025 rankings span 17 categories and highlight top performers such as IIT Madras, IISc, Delhi University (DU), and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) among others.
Table of content
Why was NIRF introduced?
To create a credible ranking system owned by the government, so that students have a reliable NIRF ranking list of institutions and policymakers can identify gaps. The framework has evolved over the years – expanding categories of institutions and refining metrics. By 2025, NIRF has grown to cover 17 categories of rankings (including Overall, Universities, Engineering, Colleges, Management, Medical, Law, Pharmacy, Architecture, etc.).
Notably, new categories like “Innovation” (introduced in 2019), “Research Institutions” (2021), “Open Universities” and “State Public Universities” (2022) were added, and in 2025 an SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) category was introduced.
Total Applications: In all, 14,163 applications for ranking were made in 2025.
Unique Institutions: These applications came from 7,692 unique institutions, which is a record number. The growing scope of NIRF reflects its acceptance and the competitive push among institutions to improve their standings.
Read more on India's education policy : National Education Policy (NEP 2020)
NIRF uses a transparent scoring system based on five broad parameters:
Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR): Quality of faculty, teacher-student ratio, facilities, and curriculum (weighted ~30%).
Research and Professional Practice (RP): Research output, publications, citations, patents, projects (weighted ~30%).
Graduation Outcomes (GO): Student success, graduation rate, placements, higher studies (weighted ~20%).
Outreach & Inclusivity (OI): Diversity, inclusion of women and disadvantaged groups, regional outreach (weighted ~10%).
Perception (PR): Peer and public perception, measured via surveys (weighted ~10%).
These weightages can vary slightly by category – for example, in the Overall ranking, TLR and RP are 30% each, GO 20%, OI 10%, PR 10%. The framework relies on data submitted by institutions and verified through a third-party audit and public feedback process. The NIRF 2025 rankings also incorporated new sub-criteria, such as a negative marking for research paper retractions (to penalize institutions with retracted publications), reflecting an increased emphasis on research integrity.
The NIRF 2025 ranking list (10th edition of NIRF) provides a comprehensive picture of top institutions in India across various domains. Below are the key highlights and top performers in major categories:
Overall Top Institutes (2025):
IIT Madras retained Rank 1 overall (for the 7th year in a row), affirming its consistent excellence.
IISc Bengaluru was ranked 2nd overall, followed by IIT Bombay at 3rd. The top 10 overall included five other IITs (Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Guwahati), along with AIIMS Delhi, JNU, and BHU.
Notably, AIIMS Delhi (a medical institute) is the first non-IIT institution in the overall top 10 (ranked 8th).
Universities Category:
In the universities-only ranking, IISc Bangalore secured Rank 1 for the tenth year in a row.
It has topped the University category every year since NIRF began in 2016.
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) retained the 2nd spot among universities.
The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) climbed to 3rd place in 2025.
Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) moved up to 4th, and University of Delhi (DU) is 5th in the universities category.
These shifts indicate improving performance by private and non-central universities (MAHE, JMI), though IISc and JNU continue to dominate.
Engineering Institutions:
The engineering category remains dominated by the IITs. IIT Madras is ranked the #1 engineering college in India.
It is followed by IIT Delhi (2nd) and IIT Bombay (3rd) in the 2025 engineering rankings.
Other IITs (Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, etc.) fill most of the top 10, with NIT Tiruchirappalli being the only non-IIT in the top ten (at 9th rank). This underscores the continued preeminence of IITs in technical education.
Management (MBA) Institutions:
In the management category, IIM Ahmedabad retained Rank 1, leading for the sixth consecutive year.
IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode secured 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
The top IIMs have consistently dominated B-school rankings, reflecting high academic and placement performance.
It’s notable that an IIT (IIT Delhi’s Department of Management Studies) also featured among the top 10 management institutes, showing the interdisciplinary strength of IITs.
Medical and Pharmacy Colleges:
AIIMS New Delhi once again topped the Medical colleges category, a position it has held for over a decade.
PGIMER Chandigarh and CMC Vellore were ranked 2nd and 3rd among medical institutions.
In the Pharmacy category, Jamia Hamdard (New Delhi) secured the 1st rank for the second year in a row, reflecting its excellence in pharmaceutical sciences education.
These rankings highlight institutions leading in healthcare education: AIIMS Delhi’s national dominance and strong regional performers like PGIMER (North) and CMC Vellore (South).
Law Colleges:
In the law category, the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru retained its #1 position for the eighth consecutive year. It was followed by NLU Delhi (2nd) and NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad (3rd).
NLSIU’s consistent top rank underlines its reputation as India’s premier law institute. Other top law schools in 2025 included WBNUJS Kolkata and GNLU Gandhinagar, which took 4th and 5th ranks respectively.
Colleges (Undergraduate Colleges):
The college rankings 2025 (primarily for undergraduate liberal arts/science colleges) were dominated by Delhi this year.
Hindu College, Delhi University, secured Rank 1 among colleges (for the second year running).
Miranda House (DU) was 2nd and Hans Raj College (DU) 3rd.
In fact, six of the top seven colleges in India are constituent colleges of Delhi University : Hindu, Miranda House, Hans Raj, Kirori Mal, St. Stephen’s, and Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm.
New “SDG” Category:
A significant addition in NIRF 2025 is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) category, assessing institutions on sustainability and societal impact.
IIT Madras topped this inaugural SDG ranking as well, reaffirming its all-round leadership.
It was followed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi at 2nd and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Delhi at 3rd in the SDG category.
Other Categories:
The Architecture & Planning category was led by IIT Roorkee (Rank 1), followed by NIT Calicut and IIT Kharagpur.
In the Agriculture and Allied sectors, institutes like IARI Delhi are top performers (IARI’s strong show in SDG also reflects this).
The “Research Institutions” category (which includes stand-alone research centers) continued to be dominated by research-centric institutions such as IISc and CSIR labs (IISc Bangalore has historically ranked 1 in this category as well).
Open University rankings saw IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University) at Rank 1, underscoring its role in distance education.
Why are the NIRF rankings significant?
For students and parents, the NIRF ranking list serves as a national benchmark for institutional quality. It helps in making informed decisions about college admissions by comparing key aspects like faculty strength, research, and placement outcomes. A good NIRF rank can enhance an institute’s reputation and attract talent.
From the policy and governance perspective, NIRF is a tool for the government to encourage competition and accountability in higher education. It has spurred institutes to improve on measurable parameters (for instance, enhancing research facilities or improving faculty ratios) in order to climb rankings. NIRF data also feeds into policy decisions – e.g. identifying institutions for additional funding, “Institutes of Eminence” status, etc., aligning with broader education reforms under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 goals.
While NIRF has been a positive initiative, it is not without criticism and challenges:
Data Reliability: NIRF largely relies on data submitted by institutions themselves. There have been concerns of data fudging or inconsistencies. An interim order by the Madras High Court in 2025 (on a PIL) even questioned the ranking’s methodology and transparency. Although NIRF employs audits and validation, the potential for inflated figures (e.g. exaggerated faculty numbers or research statistics) remains a challenge.
Lack of Qualitative Metrics: Educationists point out that NIRF does not directly measure teaching quality or learning experience. It has no metric for classroom teaching effectiveness or student satisfaction. Student and alumni feedback are not part of the scoring, which means a crucial aspect of quality is missed. The framework is heavily quantitative, which might not fully capture the academic atmosphere of an institution.
Bias Toward Established Institutions: The criteria (research output, perception, resources) tend to favor older, well-funded institutions (mainly centrally funded IITs, IIMs, central universities). Smaller or newer colleges find it hard to compete, even if they provide good teaching, because they lack scale in research or infrastructure. This raises the question of whether NIRF inadvertently perpetuates existing hierarchies in academia.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A single ranking framework might not do justice to diverse institutions. Critics argue that comparing a small liberal arts college with a large multidisciplinary university on the same scale is problematic.
Despite these criticisms, NIRF has shown responsiveness by updating its methodology – e.g. introducing the Innovation rank, SDG category, and penalizing research retractions to improve credibility. Ongoing debates suggest NIRF will need to incorporate more qualitative aspects and ensure greater transparency to maintain trust.
In a global comparison, Indian institutions still lag in world university rankings (such as QS or THE) despite high NIRF ranks domestically.
For instance, IIT Madras and IISc Bengaluru, while topping NIRF, feature in the few-hundreds band globally.
This gap highlights that Indian institutions need to improve on parameters like international faculty, global research collaborations, and citations to climb global rankings.
NIRF’s focus is domestic, but it has indirectly encouraged institutes to aspire for international standards.
The government’s aim to have more Indian universities in global top-100 lists will require continued improvements in quality – NIRF serves as an internal benchmark in this journey.
Q. What is the NIRF full form?
A. NIRF stands for National Institutional Ranking Framework, which is the Ministry of Education’s system for ranking higher education institutions in India.
Q. What are the key parameters of NIRF rankings?
A. NIRF rankings are based on five main parameters – Teaching-Learning-Resources, Research and Professional Practice, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach & Inclusivity, and Perception. Each factor is weighted to derive the final score.
Q. What is the NIRF ranking list used for?
A. The NIRF ranking list is an annual published list of institutions ranked by quality. It is used by students to compare colleges, by policymakers to identify top performers and areas needing improvement, and by institutions as a benchmark to improve their offerings.
Q. Who topped the NIRF rankings 2025?
A. In NIRF 2025, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras secured the top rank overall. Category-wise, IIT Madras also topped engineering and the new SDG category; IISc Bengaluru was the top university; IIM Ahmedabad led in management; AIIMS Delhi in medical; NLSIU Bengaluru in law; and Hindu College (DU) was the top college.
Q5. How to download the NIRF ranking 2025 PDF?
A5. You can download the NIRF 2025 ranking list PDF from the official NIRF website. Visit nirfindia.org, click on “India Rankings 2025”, and select the desired category to view or download the PDF of the rankings. You can also click on this link to go the Rankings Page : NIRF ranking 2025
The NIRF 2025 rankings offer valuable insights into India’s higher education milieu highlighting excellence (IITs, IIMs, IISc, AIIMS, etc.), promoting competition, and also pointing out areas needing attention (like inclusion and research quality). For students and policymakers alike, the rankings underscore the importance of quantifiable outcomes in education. From a UPSC exam perspective, NIRF exemplifies how data-driven governance tools are being used to drive improvements in public services (in this case, education).
In essence, NIRF 2025 is not just a list of top colleges – it is a mirror reflecting India’s educational priorities and challenges. Understanding it helps future administrators and informed citizens appreciate the link between policy measures like rankings and on-ground educational outcomes.
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