NIRF 2025 rankings expected in early September; previous year’s top institutes across key categories

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025 rankings are expected to be announced soon by the Ministry of Education. The NIRF rankings 2025 evaluate higher education institutions across India on teaching, research, graduation outcomes, outreach, and perception.

The Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, will release the category-wise rankings of Indian colleges and universities. The list will also be made available on the official website at nirfindia.org. The list was initially expected in August 2025; however, its release has been delayed, with reports now indicating it may be published in the first week of September.

The NIRF 2025 edition includes adjustments to the evaluation framework. A new component assessing institutions’ contributions toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been introduced. This aims to measure efforts in environmental sustainability and social impact.

Additionally, negative marking for retracted research papers has been implemented under the Research and Professional Practices parameter. The scoring will consider either the number or percentage of retractions, reflecting efforts to maintain research integrity.

Legal scrutiny delays NIRF 2025 rankings

The ranking has also faced legal scrutiny this year. In March, the Madras High Court imposed an interim stay on the publication of NIRF 2025 following a petition alleging malpractices and lack of transparency. The petitioner claimed that several institutions submit unverified or inflated data, particularly private colleges, and that the rankings are declared without auditing.

In May 2025, the Court lifted the interim stay and dismissed the public interest litigation as premature, after the Union government clarified that NIRF publications follow a scientific, expert-approved methodology, paving the way for the release of the rankings.

Top performers in previous year’s NIRF rankings

The NIRF rankings list the top institutions across key categories, including overall, engineering, management, universities, medical, and others. The following shows the leading institutions in each category.

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras retained the top position in the overall and engineering categories, marking its sixth and ninth consecutive year, respectively.
• Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad maintained the leading spot for the fifth consecutive year in the management category.
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, retained the first position in the medical category for the seventh consecutive year.
• Hindu College, Delhi, emerged as the top-ranked college in the country.
• Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia secured the second and third positions in the university ranking.
• Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru topped the Universities and Research Institutions categories.
• Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, was ranked first among open universities.
• Symbiosis Skill and Professional University (SSPU), Pune, secured the top rank in the skill universities category.
• Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, held the top spot in the agriculture and allied sector.
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur led the innovation category.