The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024 report, released by the Ministry of Education, provides an in-depth analysis of the performance and ranking of educational institutions across India. The report highlights that the majority of institutes within the top 20 rankings have retained their positions from the previous year. This continuity underscores a period of relative stability in the higher education sector, even as there have been some minor adjustments in individual ranks.
These slight fluctuations in rankings can be attributed to changes in performance metrics and evaluations across various parameters, such as teaching and learning resources, research output, outreach and inclusivity, and perception. Despite these minor shifts, the overall hierarchy of leading institutions has remained consistent, reflecting enduring strengths and sustained quality in education and research at these institutions.
DOMINANCE OF IITs
This year, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have largely maintained their positions from last year, with IIT Madras and IISc Bengaluru holding onto the top two spots. There has been a reshuffle, with IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi swapping places for third and fourth, and AIIMS Delhi and IIT Kharagpur switching positions for sixth and seventh.
In the top 100 overall category, the representation includes 23 state public universities, 22 private-deemed universities, 16 IITs, nine NITs, seven central universities, four AIIMS, IISERs, and government-deemed universities each, along with three other Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTIs) and one college.
According to the NIRF, South India leads in representation with 36% of the ranked institutions, followed by North India with 30%. West India accounts for 19%, while East India has 15% of the ranked institutions.
TOP UNIVERSITY STATUS
IISc Bengaluru retains its position as the top university in the country, followed closely by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) in Delhi. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAH) has secured fourth place, while Jadavpur University has dropped to ninth from its previous year’s ranking.
Delhi University (DU) has made a significant leap, jumping five spots to secure sixth place in the top 10 universities. This marks its return to the top 10, a position it last held in 2018, having been placed 11th in the 2023 rankings.
DELHI IS AHEAD IN TOP COLLEGES CATEGORY
In the top college’s category, New Delhi continues to dominate with Hindu College and Miranda House securing the top two positions. St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, and Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Howrah, share third place.
The IITs continue their dominance in the engineering category, with IIT Madras securing the top spot for the ninth consecutive year. IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay follow in second and third places, respectively, with seven other IITs also making the top 10.
OTHER INSTITUTES STATUS
The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad remains the leading management institute for the fifth consecutive year since 2020, followed by IIMs in Bengaluru and Kozhikode, and IIT Delhi. XLRI – Xavier School of Management in Jamshedpur is the only non-IIM institute in the top 10, ranked ninth.
AIIMS Delhi continues to be the premier institute for medical sciences, maintaining its top position for the seventh consecutive year. It is followed by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh and Christian Medical College in Vellore.