New Delhi, 4 Sep

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras retained the top spot in 'overall' category for the seventh consecutive year, while the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru was ranked as the best university for the tenth year in a row, according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025 released on Thursday.

The tenth edition of the NIRF was announced by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

IISc Bengaluru has retained the second spot in the 'overall' category, followed by IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi, which have also retained their positions.

Among universities, the top spot has been bagged by IISc Bengaluru, with Jawaharlal Nehru University at the second position.

While IISc and JNU have retained their ranks in the universities category, Manipal Academy of Higher Education has bagged the third spot. The Karnataka-based university is also the first private institution to feature in the top three of the NIRF rankings.

Jamia Millia Islamia, which was ranked third last year, has slipped one spot to bag the fourth position.

Delhi University's Hindu College and Miranda House have retained their first and second positions in the colleges category, followed by Hansraj College and Kirori Mal College. St Stephen's College, which was ranked third in the category last year, has slipped to the fifth spot.

Nine IITs feature in the top 10 list for engineering colleges, with IIT Madras at the top for the tenth consecutive year in the category. IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay have also retained their second and third spots, respectively. The National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirappalli, is the only non-IIT in the top 10 list.

Among management colleges, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad has retained its top spot, followed by IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode. While seven IIMs are in the top 10 list for B-schools, IIT Delhi is the only tech institution to feature in the category. MDI Gurgaon and XLRI Jamshedpur are at the ninth and tenth positions, respectively.

In pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard has retained the top spot, while BITS Pilani has risen to the second position from third last year.

Similarly, for law, the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, followed by the National Law University, Delhi, and NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, have retained the first, second and third spots, respectively.

Among medical colleges, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, has bagged the top position, followed by PGIMER, Chandigarh, and CMC Vellore in second and third place. All three institutions have retained their positions.

Among dental colleges, AIIMS Delhi has bagged the top spot, while Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, has slipped to the second position.

According to the NIRF, IISc Bengaluru is the top-ranked research institution, followed by IIT Madras.

Among open universities, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is at the top spot, followed by Karnataka State Open University, Mysuru.

In the category for state public universities, Jadavpur University has topped the chart followed by Anna University and Panjab University.

The participation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the NIRF rankings has grown from 3,565 in 2016 to 14,163 in 2025. Concurrently, the number of categories and subject domains has expanded from four in 2016 to 17 in 2025.

The tenth edition of the rankings has ranked institutions of higher education in nine categories-- Overall, Universities, Colleges, Research Institutions, Innovation, Open Universities, State Public Universities, Skill Universities and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

HEIs have also been ranked in eight subject domains, namely Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Law, Medical, Architecture and Planning, Dental, and Agriculture and Allied Sectors.

A record number of 7,692 unique institutions responded and submitted 14,163 applications across various categories and subject domains, offering themselves for ranking in 'Overall', category-specific, or domain-specific rankings.

"A cornerstone of the India Rankings has been its success in cultivating a culture of data governance within higher education institutions. Institutions now maintain comprehensive datasets on faculty strength, student enrolment, placement outcomes, infrastructure, research productivity, library and lab resources, and operational spending enabling internal bench marking and long-term strategic planning," Education Minister Pradhan said.

"At a macro level, this data serves as a valuable resource for national policy formulation and sectoral analysis. A multi-layered data validation is undertaken to ensure integrity of the rankings. Data submitted by the HEIs are scrutinized for inconsistencies, anomalies, and potential inflation," he said.

The ranking framework evaluated institutions based on five broad groups of parameters, namely, Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcome (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI), and Perception (PR). Ranks were assigned based on the total scores across these parameters.