In September 2025, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Ministry of Education (MoE) released the 10th edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) i.e. NIRF Rankings 2025, during a special event held at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Delhi.
- As per the NIRF’s latest rankings, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) has secured the top spot in the ‘overall category’ with an overall score of 87.31, for the 7th consecutive year (2019-2025).
- It is followed by Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru and IIT-Bombay (IIT-B) ranked at 2nd and 3rd position, respectively.
Exam Hints:
- What? Release of NIRF Rankings 2025
- Edition: 10th
- Released by: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, MoE
- Categories: 17 including 9 broad categories and 8 subject-domain
- New Category: SDGs
- Introduced in: 2015
- Top 3 Overall Category: IIT-M (1st); IISc Bengaluru (2nd) and IIT-B (3rd)
- Number of unique applicants: 7,692 (2025)
About NIRF 2025 Rankings:
Introduced: On September 29 2015, then, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) now known as the Ministry of Education (MoE) had introduced NIRF, aimed to provide a transparent and comprehensive framework to evaluate higher education institutions nationwide.
1st Edition: However, the 1st edition of NIRF rankings was published in 2016.
New Category: The number of categories and subject domains has expanded from 16 (in 2024) to 17 (in 2025), with the inclusion of new broad category i.e. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that evaluates institutions on sustainability metrics.
Subject Domains & Categories: This latest edition of NIRF rankings evaluated institutions across 17 categories including 9 broad categories and 8 subject domains.
- Broad Categories: Overall Universities, Colleges, Research Institutions, Innovation, State Public Universities, Open Universities, Skill Universities, and SDGs.
- Subject Domains: Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Medical, Dental, Law, Architecture & Planning, Agriculture and Allied sectors.
Key Metrics: The institutions are ranked based on 5 broad metrics such as: Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (O&I), and Perception (PR).
Key Highlights:
Top-100 (Overall Category): As per 2025 NIRF Rankings, top 100 institutes in ‘overall category’ included 24 state public universities; 22 private deemed universities; 19 IITs and IISc, Bengaluru; 9 private universities;
- 8 National Institutes of Technology (NITs); 7 central universities;
- 5 Medical Institutions (under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, MoH&FW);
- 4 Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (ISSERs);
- 1 College and Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) (under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, MoA&FW)
States-wise representation: Tamil Nadu (TN) with 17 colleges, emerged as the most represented state in this year’s rankings, followed by Karnataka (6), Maharashtra (11), Delhi (8), among others.
IITs Dominance: This year’s ranking in overall category is dominated by Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) as more than 4 IITs were featured among the top 10 including IIT-M, IIT-Delhi (IIT-D), IIT-Kanpur (IIT-K).
IIT-M Dominance: Apart from securing 1st position in overall category, IIT-M has also retained the top spot in ‘Engineering’ subject-domain category for the 10th consecutive year (2016-2025).
Top 3 Performers in SDGs: SDG: IIT-M has topped the new inducted category ‘SDGs’; followed by IARI; Jamia Millia Islamia ranked at 2nd and 3rd spot respectively.
Top Retainers: IISc, Bengaluru in University (10th consecutive year from 2016-25); National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, in ‘Law’ category (for the 8th consecutive time from 2018-2025); Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Ahmedabad in’Management’ (for 6th consecutive year from 2020-25)
Top 5 Institutes: Overall Category
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) | Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN) | 87.31 |
| 2 | Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru | Bengaluru, Karnataka | 85 |
| 3 | IIT-Bombay (IIT-B) | Mumbai, Maharashtra
| 81.62 |
| 4 | IIT-Delhi (IIT-D) | New Delhi, Delhi
| 80.67 |
| 5 | IIT-Kanpur (IIT-K) | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (UP) | 77.25 |
Click Here for Indian Ranking 2025: Overall
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: University
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IISc, Bengaluru | Bengaluru, Karnataka | 85.05 |
| 2 | Jawahar Lal University (JNU) | New Delhi, Delhi | 71.0 |
| 3 | Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)-Manipal | Manipal, Karnataka | 69.25 |
| 4 | Jamia Millia Islamia | New Delhi, Delhi
| 69.10 |
| 5 | University of Delhi (DU) | New Delhi, Delhi
| 67.38 |
Click Here for Indian Ranking 2025: University
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Colleges
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hindu College | Delhi, Delhi | 84.01
|
| 2 | Miranda House | Delhi, Delhi | 83.20 |
| 3 | Hans Raj College | Delhi, Delhi | 81.75 |
| 4 | Kirori Mal College | Delhi, Delhi | 80.33 |
| 5 | St. Stephens College | Delhi, Delhi
| 79.41 |
Click Here for Indian Ranking 2025: Colleges
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Research Institutions
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IISc, Bengaluru | Bengaluru, Karnataka | 85.01
|
| 2 | IIT-M | Chennai, TN
| 82.99 |
| 3 | IIT-D | New Delhi, Delhi | 80.42 |
| 4 | IIT-B | Mumbai, Maharashtra | 77.80 |
| 5 | IIT-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) | Kharagpur, West Bengal (WB)
| 71.61 |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Research Institutions
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Engineering
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIT-M | Chennai, TN | 88.72
|
| 2 | IIT-D | New Delhi, Delhi | 85.74 |
| 3 | IIT-B | Mumbai, Maharashtra | 83.65 |
| 4 | IIT-K | Kanpur, UP | 81.82 |
| 5 | IIT-KGP | Kharagpur, WB | 78.69 |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Engineering
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Management
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Ahmedabad | Ahmedabad, Gujarat | 83.29
|
| 2 | IIM-Bangalore | Bengaluru, Karnataka | 81.56 |
| 3 | IIM-Kozhikode | Kozhikode, Kerala | 79.85 |
| 4 | IIT-D | New Delhi, Delhi | 78.94 |
| 5 | IIM-Lucknow | Lucknow, UP | 77.97
|
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Management
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Pharmacy
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamia Hamdard | New Delhi, Delhi | 86.59
|
| 2 | Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS)-Pilani | Pilani, Rajasthan | 82.28 |
| 3 | Panjab University (PU) | Chandigarh, Union Territory (UT) Chandigarh | 76.39 |
| 4 | JSS College of Pharmacy | Ooty, TN | 76.14 |
| 5 | National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) | Hyderabad, Telangana | 75.64 |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Pharmacy
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Medical
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Delhi | New Delhi, Delhi | 91.80
|
| 2 | Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) | Chandigarh, UT Chandigarh | 82.58 |
| 3 | Christian Medical College (CMC) | Vellore, TN | 76.48 |
| 4 | Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research | Puducherry, UT Puducherry | 73.30 |
| 5 | Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences | Lucknow, UP | 70.09 |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Medical
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Dental
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Delhi | New Delhi, Delhi | 89.12
|
| 2 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | Chennai, TN | 85.31 |
| 3 | Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences | New Delhi, Delhi | 72.55 |
| 4 | Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth | Pune, Maharashtra | 72.36
|
| 5 | Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal | Manipal, Karnataka | 70.58 |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Dental
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Law
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Law School of India University (NLSIU) | Bengaluru, Karnataka | 82.97
|
| 2 | National Law University (NLU) | New Delhi, Delhi | 80.00 |
| 3 | Nalsar University of Law (NUL) | Hyderabad, Telangana | 79.50 |
| 4 | The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences | Kolkata, WB | 79.39 |
| 5 | Gujarat National Law University | Gandhinagar, Gujarat | 76.23 |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Law
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Architecture & Planning
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Roorkee | Roorkee, Uttarakhand | 83.95
|
| 2 | National Institute of Technology Calicut | Kozhikode, Kerala | 77.89 |
| 3 | IIT-K | Kharagpur, WB | 77.38 |
| 4 | Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur | Howrah, WB | 68.37 |
| 5 | Jamia Millia Islamia | New Delhi, Delhi | 67.15 |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Architecture & Planning
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Agriculture & Allied Sectors
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) | New Delhi, Delhi | 89.23
|
| 2 | Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)- National Dairy Research Institute | Karnal, Harayana | 75.87 |
| 3 | Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) | Ludhiana, Punjab | 75.83 |
| 4 | Banaras Hindu University (BHU) | Varanasi, UP | 68.95 |
| 5 | Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar | Bareilly, UP | 67.66 |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Agriculture & Allied Sectors
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: Innovation
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIT-M | Chennai, TN |
| 2 | IIT-B | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| 3 | IISc, Bengaluru | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| 4 | IIT-KGP | Kharagpur, WB |
| 5 | IIT-K | Kanpur, UP |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Innovation
Top 5 in NIRF Rankings 2025: SDG Institutions
| Rank | Name of the Institute/University | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIT-M | Chennai, TN |
| 2 | IARI | New Delhi, Delhi |
| 3 | Jamia Millia Islamia | New Delhi, Delhi |
| 4 | S.R.M. Institute of Science and Technology | Chennai, TN |
| 5 | MAHE-Manipal | Manipal, Karnataka |
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: SDGs
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Skill University
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: Open University
Click Here for Indian Rankings 2025: State Public Universities
