NIRF Rankings 2021: TN, Karnataka have half of India's top dental colleges 

Half of the best dental colleges in India are from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu — and this has been the case for two consecutive years, according to the National Institute of Ranking Framework (NIRF) India Rankings 2021 released by the Ministry of Education on September 9.

The Manipal College of Dental Sciences in Karnataka's Udupi district is the number one dental college in the country this year. Karnataka's dental colleges also feature on the sixth, seventh and ninth positions in the list. There are in total 40 dental colleges in the ranking list out of which 12 are from Karnataka and seven are from Tamil Nadu.

All dental colleges of Tamil Nadu featured in the list are located in the state capital. In fact, Chennai's Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, which ranked 4th last year, is now ranked third. It is one step down for Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research as it ranks 8th this year. However, the city's SRM Dental College made it to the top ten list as the college now ranks 10th as opposed to 9th last year.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the NIRF report at a virtual event held by the ministry across all social media platforms. The 2020 list for top dental colleges was a compilation of the 30 with Delhi's Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences at the top of all. The ranking of institutions under the subject domain 'Dental' was undertaken last year "considering the request received from the Dental Association of India".

The NIRF ranks education institutes and universities all over India across several parameters including teaching, learning and resources, research and professional practices, graduation outcome outreach and inclusivity, and perception.