NIRF 2026 Ranking List: Release Date Awaited; Check Last Year's Top Colleges
Published 16 Sept 20263 min read
The NIRF 2026 Ranking List has not been released. The Ministry of Education has not announced an official date, and the list will be published at nirfindia.org once it is out.
Based on release patterns over the last few years — June 2023, August 2024, and September 4, 2025 — September 2026 is a reasonable expectation, but it is not a confirmed schedule. Candidates should treat any specific date circulating online as unofficial until it appears on nirfindia.org.
When will NIRF 2026 be released
| Year | NIRF Ranking Release Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Not yet announced (September 2026 expected, unconfirmed) |
| 2025 | September 4, 2025 |
| 2024 | August 12, 2024 |
| 2023 | June 5, 2023 |
| 2022 | July 15, 2022 |
How to check the NIRF 2026 ranking list, once released
- Visit nirfindia.org, the official NIRF portal.
- Navigate to the ranking section and select "2026" from the dropdown menu.
- Select the relevant category — Overall, Engineering, Medical, University, Dental, Innovation, Colleges, and others.
- Download the rank list PDF or view rankings directly on the website.
- Check the institute ID and review the institution's statistics and parameter-wise scores.
NIRF 2026: categories and parameters
NIRF ranks institutions across 17 categories: Overall, Universities, Colleges, Research Institutions, Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Medical, Dental, Law, Architecture and Planning, Agriculture and Allied Sectors, Innovation, Open University, Skill University, State Public University, and Sustainable Development Goals.
These categories are scored on five broad parameters:
- Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR)
- Research and Professional Practice (RP)
- Graduation Outcomes (GO)
- Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)
- Perception (PR)
NIRF 2025: Top colleges by category
Since NIRF 2026 data is not yet available, the tables below reflect the most recent official rankings — NIRF 2025 — for reference.
Top category leaders (NIRF 2025):
| Category | Top institute |
|---|---|
| Overall | IIT Madras |
| University | IISc Bengaluru |
| College | Hindu College, Delhi |
IIT Madras led the Overall category with a score of 87.31, marking its 7th consecutive year at Rank 1 in this category. Separately, in the Engineering category — where it also ranked No. 1 for the 10th consecutive year — its score was 88.72.
NIRF 2025 Overall category, top 10:
| Institute | Rank |
|---|---|
| Indian Institute of Technology Madras | 1 |
| Indian Institute of Science | 2 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Bombay | 3 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Delhi | 4 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur | 5 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur | 6 |
| Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee | 7 |
| All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi | 8 |
| Jawaharlal Nehru University | 9 |
| Banaras Hindu University | 10 |
NIRF 2025 Engineering category, top 10:
| Institute | State |
|---|---|
| IIT Madras | Tamil Nadu |
| IIT Delhi | Delhi |
| IIT Bombay | Maharashtra |
| IIT Kanpur | Uttar Pradesh |
| IIT Kharagpur | West Bengal |
| IIT Roorkee | Uttarakhand |
| IIT Hyderabad | Telangana |
| IIT Guwahati | Assam |
| NIT Tiruchirapalli | Tamil Nadu |
| IIT BHU, Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh |
NIRF 2025 Medical category, top 5:
- AIIMS Delhi
- PGIMER Chandigarh
- Christian Medical College, Vellore
- JIPMER Puducherry
- Sanjay Gandhi PGI Lucknow
Who is eligible for NIRF ranking
- The institute must be operational for at least three academic years.
- It must have graduated at least three full batches of students in full-time courses (minimum 3 years for UG, 2 years for PG programmes).
- It must be approved or recognised by relevant regulatory bodies such as UGC or AICTE.
- It must provide complete, verifiable data through the online Data Capturing System (DCS) and keep relevant faculty and student data publicly visible on its own website.
Role of NBA in the NIRF process
The National Board of Accreditation (NBA) coordinates and executes the ranking exercise in consultation with the Implementation Core Committee constituted by the Ministry of Education. NBA invites applications for institution registration across the various disciplines and categories.