The Ministry of Education will be releasing the 10th edition of annual NIRF Rankings on Thursday, September 4, 2025. The rankings will be available on the official website at nirfindia.org.
Now, what's interesting this year?
This year, a new ranking category is being introduced, namely the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Institutions willing to participate in the SDG category were invited to register themselves by the ministry.
What are SDGs and probable assessment criteria for institutes
In simpler terms, SDGs refer to the 17 global goals that are aimed at attaining a more sustainable present as well as future. Among these goals is inclusive and equitable quality education.
Also read: NIRF Rankings 2025 live updates
The key question now is how exactly will the institutes be assessed?
Although the specifics are not known yet, the assessment of institutions registering under the sustainability category will likely be done based on factors such as their contribution to a greener and a more equitable future. The upcoming category may also focus on institutions' sustainability-focused research and inclusive practices, among other criteria.
A report titled ‘Understanding NIRF’s New Sustainability Category: Predictions and Preparations for Institutions’ by Dr. Deepessh Divaakaran has predicted probable parameters for the Sustainability category for NIRF 2025. These include Environmental Resource Management, Green Campus Initiatives, Research and Innovation, Curricular and Co-Curricular Contributions, and Curricular and Co-Curricular Contributions.
Number of categories in NIRF 2025
{{/usCountry}}A report titled ‘Understanding NIRF’s New Sustainability Category: Predictions and Preparations for Institutions’ by Dr. Deepessh Divaakaran has predicted probable parameters for the Sustainability category for NIRF 2025. These include Environmental Resource Management, Green Campus Initiatives, Research and Innovation, Curricular and Co-Curricular Contributions, and Curricular and Co-Curricular Contributions.
Number of categories in NIRF 2025
{{/usCountry}}With the addition of SDG, the NIRF Rankings 2025 will feature a total of 17 categories. These are as follows:
- 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
- SDG or Sustainability
NIRF Rankings 2024 highlights
The NIRF Rankings 2024 were released by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at an event organized at the Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The rankings were released for 16 categories.
While IIT Madras grabbed the top spot in the overall category, IIM Ahmedabad remained the top management institute. Likewise, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, retained the top spot in the medical colleges category, whereas NLSIU Bangalore emerged as the best law school in India last year.
It now remains to be seen which institute will grab the top among the diverse categories of NIRF Rankings 2025, particularly in sustainability front.
The NIRF Rankings 2025 will be published on the official website at nirfindia.org.