The Ministry of Education released the much-anticipated National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024 today, August 12.

This year, along with the thirteen existing categories three new categories – Open Universities, State Universities and Skill Universities – were introduced.

Previously categories only included Overall, Colleges, Universities, Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Law, Medical, Architecture, Research Institutions and more.

The rankings were officially announced by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at the Bharat Mandapam, with Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdar also in attendance.

During his speech at the event while introducing the new categories, Dharmendra Pradhan stated, “A degree is important, but competence is more important than a degree.” This highlights the need for the new categories, especially skill universities, he explained.

In addition to these developments, Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman of National Education Technology Forum (NETF), who also addressed the gathering, hinted that a sustainability ranking category would be introduced next year.

This year, at the NIRF rankings, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has claimed the top spot in the overall rankings for the sixth consecutive year.

Meanwhile, Hindu College has overtaken Miranda House to secure the number one position among the best colleges in the country. In the engineering and medical categories, IIT Madras and All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi continue to hold their leading positions.