The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has once again secured the top position in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024, marking its sixth consecutive year as the nation’s leading higher educational institution. The rankings were officially announced by the Ministry of Education on Monday.
IIT Madras’s consistent performance underscores its excellence, particularly in the engineering domain, where it has maintained the top spot for nine years running. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, was recognized as the best university in the country.
In the management category, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta continue to dominate, securing spots among the top five institutions.
Now in its ninth edition, the NIRF evaluates institutions based on five broad parameters: teaching, learning and resources, research and professional practice, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity, and perception. This year, the framework introduced three new categories, expanding the total to 16.
Higher educational institutions are now ranked across 16 categories: overall, universities, medical, engineering, management, law, architecture, research institutions, pharmacy, dental, agriculture and allied sectors, innovation, state universities, open universities, and skill universities.
A record 10,885 higher education institutions participated in the NIRF 2024, reflecting its growing significance in shaping educational standards across the country.
The NIRF was introduced by the Ministry of Education in 2015 to provide a comprehensive ranking methodology for higher educational institutions in India. The framework was developed by a core committee established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), identifying key parameters for evaluating and ranking institutions nationwide.