National Institutional Ranking Framework
{{Short description|Methodology adopted to rank institutions of higher education in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title = National Institutional Ranking Framework
| image_file = National Institutional Ranking Framework logo.png
| image_caption = official logo
| category = Higher education
| frequency = Annual
| publisher = Ministry of Education (Govt of India)
| firstdate = {{start date and age|2016}}
| country = India
| language =
| website = {{URL|https://www.nirfindia.org/Home|nirfindia.org}}
| italic title = no
}}
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a ranking methodology released annually by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The framework was approved by the former Ministry of Human Resource Development (now the Ministry of Education) and launched by the Minister on 29 September 2015.{{cite web|title=National Institutional Ranking Framework: Overview|url=https://www.nirfindia.org/About|publisher=MHRD, Government of India|access-date=5 April 2016|archive-date=20 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220012238/https://www.nirfindia.org/About|url-status=live}}
Depending on their areas of operation, institutions have been ranked under 11 different categories – overall, university, colleges, engineering, management, pharmacy, law, medical, architecture, dental and research.{{Cite web |title= Dismal show of Haryana educational institutes in NIRF ranking |url= https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/dismal-show-of-haryana-educational-institutes-in-nirf-ranking-101631215496011.html |website= Hindustan Times |date= 10 September 2021 |language= en |access-date= 9 September 2021 |archive-date= 14 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211114214201/https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/dismal-show-of-haryana-educational-institutes-in-nirf-ranking-101631215496011.html |url-status= live }} The Framework uses several parameters for ranking purposes like resources, research, and stakeholder perception. These parameters have been grouped into five clusters and these clusters were assigned certain weights. These weights depend on the type of institution. About 3500 institutions voluntarily participated in the first round of rankings.{{Cite news|title=NIRF India Rankings 2018: IISc Bangalore overall best, AIIMS Delhi tops medical institutes' list - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/nirf-india-rankings-2018-announced-here-are-the-highlights/articleshow/63596000.cms|access-date=2020-06-11|website=The Times of India|date=4 April 2018|language=en|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025627/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/nirf-india-rankings-2018-announced-here-are-the-highlights/articleshow/63596000.cms|url-status=live}}
Background
The 2017 rankings were released by MHRD on 3 April 2017.{{cite web|title=India Rankings 2016|url=https://www.nirfindia.org/Ranking|website=National Institutional Ranking Framework|publisher=MHRD, Government of India|access-date=5 April 2016|archive-date=20 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420101356/https://www.nirfindia.org/Ranking|url-status=live}} While in its first rankings released in 2016, NIRF had four categories (Universities, Engineering, Management and Pharmacy), in 2017, two more categories namely, Overall and College, were added. Around 3,000 institutions participated in the rankings.{{Cite news|title=NIRF India Rankings 2018: IISc Bangalore overall best, AIIMS Delhi tops medical institutes' list - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/nirf-india-rankings-2018-announced-here-are-the-highlights/articleshow/63596000.cms|access-date=2020-06-11|website=The Times of India|date=4 April 2018|language=en|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025627/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/nirf-india-rankings-2018-announced-here-are-the-highlights/articleshow/63596000.cms|url-status=live}}
On 3 April 2018, the 2018 NIRF rankings were released with an increased number of participating institutions over the previous year.{{Cite news|title=NIRF India Rankings 2018: IISc Bangalore overall best, AIIMS Delhi tops medical institutes' list - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/nirf-india-rankings-2018-announced-here-are-the-highlights/articleshow/63596000.cms|access-date=2020-06-11|website=The Times of India|date=4 April 2018|language=en|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025627/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/nirf-india-rankings-2018-announced-here-are-the-highlights/articleshow/63596000.cms|url-status=live}}
The 2019 NIRF ranking was released on 8 April 2019 in 9 categories: Overall, Universities, Engineering, Colleges, Management, Pharmacy, Medical, Architecture, and Law.{{Cite web|date=April 9, 2019|title=NIRF Rankings 2019: List of top 10 institutes from each category|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/nirf-rankings-2019-nirf-india-ranking-divd-1497365-2019-04-09|access-date=2020-06-11|website=India Today|language=en|archive-date=28 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328082340/https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/nirf-rankings-2019-nirf-india-ranking-divd-1497365-2019-04-09|url-status=live}}
For the 2020 rankings, around 3,800 institutions participated in the process, a 20% increase over 2019.{{Cite web|title=NIRF Rankings 2020, NIRF India Rankings 2020 Today: Live Updates|url=https://www.ndtv.com/education/nirf-ranking-2020-live-update|access-date=2020-06-11|website=NDTV.com|language=en|archive-date=16 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716143257/https://www.ndtv.com/education/nirf-ranking-2020-live-update|url-status=live}} The 2020 ranked lists were released by MHRD on 11 June 2020. For the first time, dental institutes were placed in a new category.{{Cite web|date=2020-06-11|title=NIRF Ranking 2020: IISc, JNU and BHU best universities in India, check the Top 25 list|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/education/nirf-ranking-2020-iisc-jnu-and-bhu-best-universities-in-india-check-the-list-of-top-25-6453591/|access-date=2020-06-11|website=The Indian Express|language=en|archive-date=26 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126204408/https://indianexpress.com/article/education/nirf-ranking-2020-iisc-jnu-and-bhu-best-universities-in-india-check-the-list-of-top-25-6453591/|url-status=live}}
Formation
MHRD organized a one-day workshop on 21 August 2014 on evolving methodologies for the ranking of institutions of higher education in India. The meeting resolved to establish a committee for building a national ranking framework. Later it was also decided to appoint representatives of central universities for the proposed committee. Based on these decisions, a core committee consisting of 16 members was constituted on 29 October 2014 with secretary (HE, MHRD, as chairperson and additional secretary (TE), MHRD, as member-secretary. The other members were the vice-chancellors of Delhi University, EFL University, Central University of Gujarat and JNU, the directors of the IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, NIT Tiruchirappalli, NIT Warangal, IIIT&M Gwalior, IISER Bhopal, SPA Delhi, NAAC, and chairperson of NBA.{{cite book|title=National Institutional Ranking Framework: A Methodology for Ranking of Engineering Institutions in India|date=September 2015|publisher=Department of Higher Education Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India|url=https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Ranking-Framework-for-Engineering-Institutions.pdf|access-date=6 April 2016|archive-date=20 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420105303/https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Ranking-Framework-for-Engineering-Institutions.pdf|url-status=live}}
The terms of reference of the committee were:
- Suggest a National Framework for performance measurement and ranking of
- Institutions;
- Programmes;
- Suggest the organizational structure, institutional mechanism and processes for implementation along with time-lines of the National Ranking Framework.
- Suggest a mechanism for financing of the Scheme on National Ranking Framework.
- Suggest linkages with National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and National Board of Accreditation (NBA), if any.
The core committee identified a set of measurable parameters to be used as metrics for ranking the institutions. These parameters were grouped into five major headings. The committee suggested the weightages to be assigned to various groups of parameters in the case of institutions of engineering education and left the task of carrying out similar exercises for institutions of other disciplines to other competent agencies. The initial draft of the report was prepared by Surendra Prasad, chairman, National Board of Accreditation and
Member of the core committee.
The University Grants Commission constituted an expert committee on 9 October 2015 to develop a framework for the ranking of universities and colleges in India and the framework developed by this expert committee has been incorporated into NIRF.{{cite book|title=A Methodolog y for Ranking of Universities and Colleges in India|date=2015|publisher=Department of Higher Education Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India|url=https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Ranking%20Framework%20for%20Universities%20and%20Colleges.pdf|access-date=6 April 2016|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031010249/https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Ranking%20Framework%20for%20Universities%20and%20Colleges.pdf|url-status=live}} The core committee also suggested a framework for ranking institutions offering management education also.{{cite book|title=A Methodology for Ranking of Management Institutions in India|date=2015|publisher=Department of Higher Education Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India|url=https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Ranking-Framework-for-Managment-Institutions.pdf|access-date=6 April 2016|archive-date=5 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505023638/https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Ranking-Framework-for-Managment-Institutions.pdf|url-status=live}} The All India Council for Technical Education developed parameters and metrics for ranking institutions offering pharmacy education{{cite book|title=A Methodology for Ranking of Pharmacy Institutions in India|date=2015|publisher=All India Council for Technical Education|url=https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Framework-NIRF-PHRAMACY.pdf|access-date=6 April 2016|archive-date=12 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412150544/https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/Framework-NIRF-PHRAMACY.pdf|url-status=live}} and also architecture education.{{cite book|title=A Methodology for Ranking of Architecture Institutions|date=2015|publisher=All India Council of Technical Education|url=https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/ARCH-NIRF-Framework.pdf|access-date=6 April 2016|archive-date=20 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420104248/https://www.nirfindia.org/Docs/ARCH-NIRF-Framework.pdf|url-status=live}}
Recommendations of the core committee
The following are some of the recommendations of the core committee:
- The metrics for ranking of engineering institutions should be based on the parameters agreed upon by the core committee.
- The parameters have been organized into five broad heads or groups and each group has been divided into suitable sub-groups. Each broad head has an overall weight assigned to it. Within each head, the sub-heads should also have appropriate weight distributions.
- A suitable metric has been proposed which computes a score under each sub-head. The sub-head scores are then added to obtain scores for each individual head. The overall score is computed-based on the weights allotted to each head. The overall score can take a maximum value of 100.
- The committee recommended the classification of institutions into two categories:
:*Category A institutions: These are institutions of national importance set up by Acts of Parliament, State Universities, Deemed-to-be Universities, Private Universities and other autonomous institutions.
:*Category B institutions: These are institutions affiliated to a University and do not enjoy full academic autonomy.
Parameters and their weightages
=Engineering, management, pharmacy and architecture institutions=
The approved set of parameter groups and the weightages assigned to them in respect of institutions offering programmes in engineering, management, pharmacy and architecture are given in the following table.
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;" | ||
| Parameters
| Category A | Category B institutions | |
| Teaching, learning and resources (TLR) | 0.30 | 0.30 |
| Research, professional practice and collaborative performance (RPC) | 0.30 | 0.20 |
| Graduation outcome (GO) | 0.15 | 0.25 |
| Outreach and inclusivity (OI) | 0.15 | 0.15 |
| Perception (PR) | 0.10 | 0.10 |
= Overall and colleges=
The approved set of parameter groups and the weightages assigned to them in respect of overall rating and for colleges are given in the following table, for 2018.
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;" | ||
| Parameters | Overall{{cite web|title=Ranking Metrics for Overall|url=https://nirfcdn.azureedge.net/2018/framework/Overall.pdf|website=nirfcdn.azureedge.net|access-date=24 May 2018|page=9|archive-date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524222138/https://nirfcdn.azureedge.net/2018/framework/Overall.pdf|url-status=dead}} | Colleges{{cite web|title=Ranking Metrics for Colleges|url=https://nirfcdn.azureedge.net/2018/framework/College.pdf|website=nirfcdn.azureedge.net|access-date=24 May 2018|archive-date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524222107/https://nirfcdn.azureedge.net/2018/framework/College.pdf|url-status=dead}} |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching, learning and resources (TLR) | 0.30 | 0.40 |
| Research, productivity, impact and IPR (RPII) | 0.30 | 0.15 |
| Graduation outcome (GO) | 0.20 | 0.25 |
| Outreach and inclusivity (OI) | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| Perception (PR) | 0.10 | 0.10 |
Latest ranking (2024)
{{Tree list}}
- NIRF Overall Ranking 2024 (Score 60){{Cite web |title=NIRF-2024 |url=https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2024/OverallRanking.html}}
- Tamil Nadu (6)
- Delhi (5)
- Uttar Pradesh (3)
- West Bengal (3)
- Karnataka (2)
- Maharashtra (2)
- Telangana (2)
- Uttarakhand (1)
- Assam (1)
- Rajasthan (1)
- Odisha (1)
{{Tree list/end}}
=Overall (Top 10)=
| class="wikitable"
!Rank{{Cite web |title=NIRF-2024 |url=https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2024/OverallRanking.html}} !Name !City !State/UT !NIRF Score !Budget !Institutional classification |
| 1
|Indian Institute of Technology Madras |86.42 |{{INRConvert|996|c}} |
| 2
|83.28 |{{INRConvert|918.27|c}} |
| 3
|Indian Institute of Technology Bombay |81.37 |{{INRConvert|896|c}} |
| 4
|Indian Institute of Technology Delhi |80.31 |{{INRConvert|855.81|c}} |
| 5
|Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur |77.56 |{{INRConvert|865|c}} |
| 6
|Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur |74.77 |{{INRConvert|1135.21|c}} |
| 7
|All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi |74.27 |{{INRConvert|5200|c}} |
| 8
|Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee |71.52 |{{INRConvert|781.35|c}} |
| 9
|Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati |69.04 |{{NA}} |
| 10
|68.53 |{{INRConvert|200|c}} |
= Medical (Top 10)=
| class="wikitable"
!Name !City !State/UT !NIRF Score !Budget !Institutional classification |
| 1
|All India Institute of Medical Sciences |94.46 |{{INRConvert|5200|c}} |
| 2
|Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research |80.83 |{{INRConvert|2200|c}} |
| 3
|Christian Medical College |75.11 |{{INRConvert|1738|c}} |
| 4
|National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences |71.92 |{{INRConvert|850|c}} |
| 5
|Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research |70.74 |{{INRConvert|1440|c}} |
| 6
|Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences |70.07 |{{INRConvert|1160.5|c}} |
| 7
|Institute of Medical Sciences |69.54 |{{NA}} |
| 8
|68.8 |{{NA}} |
| 9
|67.42 |{{NA}} |
| 10
|64.12 |{{NA}} |
= Engineering (Top 10)=
| class="wikitable"
!Name !City !State/UT !NIRF Score !Budget !Institutional classification | |
| 1
|89.46 | {{INRConvert|996|c}} |
| 2
|86.66 |{{INRConvert|855.81|c}} | |
| 3
|83.09 |{{INRConvert|896|c}} | |
| 4
|82.79 |{{INRConvert|865|c}} | |
| 5
|76.88 |{{INRConvert|1135.21|c}} | |
| 6
|76.00 |{{INRConvert|781.35|c}} | |
| 7
|71.86 |{{NA}} | |
| 8
|71.55 |{{INRConvert|300|c}} | |
| 9
|National Institute of Technology, Trichy |66.88 |{{NA}} | |
| 10
|66.69 |{{NA}} |
= Universities (Top 10) =
| class="wikitable"
!Name !City !State !NIRF Score !Budget !Institutional classification |
| 1
|Bengaluru |Karnataka |83.29 |{{INRConvert|918.27|c}} |
| 2
|New Delhi |Delhi |69.80 |{{INRConvert|200|c}} |
| 3
|New Delhi |Delhi |68.11 |{{INRConvert|538.16|c}} |
| 4
|Manipal Academy of Higher Education-Manipal |Manipal |Karnataka |67.18 |{{NA}} |
| 5
|Varanasi |Uttar Pradesh |66.05 |{{INRConvert|1808.75|c}} |
| 6
|New Delhi |Delhi |65.90 |{{INRConvert|433|c}} |
| 7
|Coimbatore |Tamil Nadu |65.73 |{{NA}} |
| 8
|Aligarh |Uttar Pradesh |65.57 |{{INRConvert|1036|c}} |
| 9
|65.39 |{{INRConvert|446.10|c}} |
| 10
|Vellore Institute of Technology |Vellore |Tamil Nadu |64.79 |{{NA}} |
= Management (Top 10) =
| class="wikitable"
!Name !City !State !NIRF Score !Budget !Institutional classification |
| 1
|83.32 |{{INRConvert|254.9|c}} |
| 2
|81.16 |{{INRConvert|217.5|c}} |
| 3
|77.90 |{{INRConvert|198|c}} |
| 4
|76.25 |{{INRConvert|855.81|c}} |
| 5
|75.07 |{{INRConvert|226.97|c}} |
| 6
|74.73 |{{INRConvert|107.9|c}} |
| 7
|74.43 |{{INRConvert|168.7|c}} |
| 8
|73.53 |{{INRConvert|217.5|c}} |
| 9
|XLRI – Xavier School of Management |68.13 |{{NA}} |
| 10
|67.16 |{{INRConvert|896|c}} |
= Law (Top 5 ) =
| class="wikitable"
!Name !City !State !Budget |
| 1
|National Law School of India University |Bengaluru |Karnataka |{{INRConvert|38|c}} |
| 2
|National Law University, Delhi |New Delhi |Delhi |{{NA}} |
| 3
|Hyderabad |Telangana |{{NA}} |
| 4
|The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences |Kolkata |West Bengal |{{INRConvert|37.08|c}} |
| 5
|Pune |Maharashtra |{{NA}} |
Criticism
The rankings have been criticized as manipulative by students and some academics.{{Cite news |last=Bajpai |first=G. S. |date=2022-08-09 |title=Rankings that make no sense |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/rankings-that-make-no-sense/article65750428.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124100518/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/rankings-that-make-no-sense/article65750428.ece |archive-date=24 January 2023 |access-date=2023-01-24 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}} In spite of the criticism, the government has done little to modify the methodologies or results of the rankings. The list was criticized for being incomplete and incoherent in 2017.{{Cite web |url=https://thewire.in/121674/three-charts-show-whats-wrong-nirf-university-rankings/ |title=Three Charts Show What's Wrong With the NIRF University Rankings |access-date=6 April 2017 |archive-date=6 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406155421/https://thewire.in/121674/three-charts-show-whats-wrong-nirf-university-rankings/ |url-status=live }} Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi raised objection on 2017 NIRF ranking, accusing it of being based on incomplete data.{{cite news | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/education/iit-bhu-raises-objection-on-nirf-ranking-2017-says-list-based-on-incomplete-data/ | title=IIT BHU raises objection on NIRF ranking 2017, says list based on 'incomplete data' | newspaper=The Indian Express | date=19 April 2017 | access-date=26 May 2019 | archive-date=26 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526232358/https://indianexpress.com/article/education/iit-bhu-raises-objection-on-nirf-ranking-2017-says-list-based-on-incomplete-data/ | url-status=live }}
In 2021, Professor Anil Kumar Tripathi, director of the Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University criticized the NIRF University rankings, accusing it to compare institutions with same budget but varying number of students. He said that "IISc no doubt, is the top institution in the country. Banaras Hindu University (BHU), however, is a different kind of educational institution. Both institutions have almost the same budget but the same amount of money caters to a large number of students, teachers and infrastructure at BHU. In comparison to IISc the money available is about five to ten times lesser in our university because of the sheer size".{{Cite web |title=NIRF Ranking 2021: Can't compare IITs, IISc with BHU, says BHU director |url=https://news.careers360.com/nirf-ranking-2021-universities-cannot-compare-iit-madras-bombay-iisc-bengaluru-jnu-bhu-amu-education-ministry-budget |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=news.careers360.com |date=11 September 2021 |language=en |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018200510/https://news.careers360.com/nirf-ranking-2021-universities-cannot-compare-iit-madras-bombay-iisc-bengaluru-jnu-bhu-amu-education-ministry-budget |url-status=live }}
In response to a PIL, on 27 march 2025 Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court puts stay order on publishing NIRF ranking for 2025. PIL petition has claimed that NIRF continuously providing rank and unjustly promoting to multiple number of institutions on the basis of fake and fraud information from past many years without cross-checking, even those institutions failed to meet basic medical education standard. Whole ranking process is based on lack of transprency since NBA collect The data direct from the institution websites without any cross verification for authenticity, resulting in the publication of manipulated data in the ranking list.{{Cite web |title=Madras High Court restrains authorities from publishing NIRF ranking for 2025 | newspaper=The Hindu March 21, 2025 08:47 pm IST |date= 21 March 2025 |access-date=21 March 2025 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/madras-high-court-restrains-authorities-from-publishing-nirf-ranking-for-2025/article69358371.ece |url-status=live }}
On May 10, Madras High Court dismissed the PIL petition and lifted the interim stay on release of NIRF ranking noting that, "Upon reviewing the materials on record, the petition appeared to be premature, as there was insufficient data available to enable a comparison or to assess the accuracy of the rankings."{{Cite news |last=Bureau |first=The Hindu |date=2025-05-10 |title=HC dismisses plea to publish NIRF rankings after comparing institutions' and govt.'s data |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/hc-dismisses-plea-to-publish-nirf-rankings-after-comparing-institutions-and-govts-data/article69561301.ece |access-date=2025-05-11 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}