NIRF India rankings 2024 across 16 categories have been released and IIT Madras is the top ranked institute overall with a total score of 86.42 out of 100. IITs are the top ranked institutes for Engineering and higher education in India offering world class facilities and have consistently ranked higher in the NIRF rankings over the years. The NIRF rankings are released across 16 different categories as follows.

1. Overall
2. Univeristy
3. Colleges
4. Research Institutions
5. Engineering
6. Management
7. Pharmacy
8. Medical
9. Dental
10. Law
11. Architecture and Planning
12. Agriculture and Allied Sectors
13. Innovation
14. Open University
15. Skill University
16. State Public University

NIRF provides rankings to the institutes based on several metrices including total students including UG and PG , total funds and utililzed capital expenditure ,Placement and Higher Study details , Gender Ratio , Facilities for Physically challenged Students ,Total Faculty and student Faculty ratio are among the factors considered for the rankings of the institutes. A detailed report on these metrices are submitted by the institues to NIRF and then based on the data and due diligence the rankings are provided by NIRF.

NIRF stands for National Instituional Ranking Framework which is under Ministry of Education , Government of India which provided rankings to institutions meeting specific criterion. The Framework launched in 2015 ranked institutions on specific criterion like Learning, and resources (TLR), research and professional practices (RP), graduation outcomes (GO), outreach and inclusivity (OI), and perception (PR).

NIRF 2024 ranking was announced with 3 new categories including  ‘open universities’, ‘skill universities,’ and ‘state-funded government universities’. These 3 new category were added to the existing 13 regular category.

For NIRF 2024 ranking Engineering  the top 3 are IIT Madras , IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay in the same order. For Management the Top 3 ranked institutes are IIM Ahmedabad , IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode. IIM Calcutta dropped to 5th ranking in the current NIRF rankings wheras IIM Kozhikode moved up to an impressive 3rd ranking. IIT Delhi ranked 4th in Management and 2nd in Engineering which is a remarkable performanace and a choice for a lot of MBA aspirants. Newer IIMs like IIM Rohtak, IIM Ranchi , IIM Kashipur , IIM Udaipur performed well and are in the top 25 all India rankings for Management.

In the overall category NIRF ranking 2024 IIM Madras topped the rankings followed by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and IIT Bombay.

The NIRF rankings however faced criticism and several controversies over the years as the data submitted to the NIRF by the institutions are self evaluated by the institutes and there may be insufficient due diligence and verification of these data .

Moreover there is often said to be a bias towards research output which is a metrics in the ratings and often Management insitutes where Flagship MBA programmes are known for their placements are ranked incorrectly in the research metrics as there are fewer students opting for higher education . Also there is a diversity factor under Outreach and Inclusivity which adds to the rankings and institutes with better gender diversity may be ranked higher which is debatable metrics in comparing education quality and rankings of the institutes.