The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a ranking system developed by the Ministry of Education in India to evaluate higher education institutions across the country. Launched in November 2015, NIRF ranks institutions based on five key parameters: Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR) and Research and Professional Practice (RP) each weighted at 30%, Graduation Outcomes (GO) at 20%, and both Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) and Perception (PR) at 10% each.
In the 2024 edition, several top institutions retained their leading positions:
- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras retained its 1st position in the Overall Category for the sixth consecutive year (2019-2024) and in the Engineering Category for the ninth consecutive year (2016-2024).
- Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru topped the Universities Category for the ninth consecutive year (2016-2024) and stood first in the Research Institutions Category for the fourth consecutive year (2021-2024).
- IIM Ahmedabad maintained its top position in the Management Category for the fifth consecutive year (2020-2024).
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi occupied the top spot in the Medical Category for the seventh consecutive year (2018-2024).
- Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi topped the rankings in the Pharmacy Category for 2024.
- National Law School of India University, Bengaluru retained its first position in the Law Category.
The 2024 NIRF also introduced three new categories—State Public Universities, Open Universities, and Skill Universities—bringing the total number of categories to 16. Additionally, the NIRF incorporated an “Innovation” ranking into its framework.
NIRF’s methodology relies heavily on bibliometric data from sources like ‘Scopus’ and ‘Web of Science’ to measure research output. However, concerns have been raised about the potential over-reliance on these metrics, which may overlook locally significant research and could lead to misuse.
Unlike NIRF’s annual rankings, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) provides a more comprehensive evaluation of institutions every five years. Despite both assessing educational institutions, NIRF and NAAC differ significantly in their evaluation criteria and methodologies.
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