NIRF Rankings: IIT Madras Retains Top Position For 5th Consecutive Year

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) continues to retain the top honours in Indian Higher Education. The premier technical institute has, once again, swept the top honours in the National Institutional Rankings Framework (NIRF) rankings of the Ministry of Education, Government of India.

Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Government of India, announced the results of the eighth edition of NIRF India Ranking Results on Monday in New Delhi and gave prizes.

In a feat without precedence in Indian Higher Education, IIT Madras held on its No. 1 ranking in the ‘Overall’ category for the Fifth Consecutive Year and in the ‘Engineering’ Category for the Eight Consecutive Year, right from the first edition of the Rankings in 2016.

In the ‘Research Institutions’ category, IIT Madras was ranked number 2, retaining last year’s position. IIT Madras was ranked number 2 in the ‘Innovations’ category (previously known as the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements).

Further, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said, “Institutes such as IITs, IIM, NITs, IIITs are doing well in India ranking in 2023. It is also heartening to see the rankings pointing to the evolution of private universities. I congratulate the Institutes which have done well and would like to encourage the other Institutes to achieve well in the forthcoming edition of NIRF rankings.”

The awards were received by Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, in person.

Congratulating all the stakeholders, from students to faculty and non-teaching staff for their hard work that has resulted in such extraordinary performance, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “It gives me immense joy to share that IIT Madras has yet again emerged as a topper in the Overall and Engineering categories of the National Institute Rankings Framework 2023 conducted by the Union Ministry of Education.”

Further, Prof. V. Kamakoti said, “We will continue to take all necessary action to make IIT Madras a locally relevant and globally recognized institute.”

IIT Madras has also been recognized as an ‘Institution of Eminence’ (IoE) in September 2019 by the Government of India. As an Institute of Eminence, IIT Madras has recently launched 15 Centres of Excellence for undertaking cutting-edge research in next-generation technologies such as Construction, Healthcare and Assistive Technologies, the Marine sector, Sports, Cancer Genomics, and Energy, to mention some.

IIT Madras has made quantum leaps in recent years. In a major initiative towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in medical technologies, the Institute recently launched the Department of Medical Sciences and Technology, which will be offering four programmes including a first-of-its-kind BS in Medical Sciences and Engineering, to begin with.

The programmes offered by the Department will train physicians to effectively apply technology in their clinical practice and will lay the foundation for physician-scientists training in India.

In keeping with the ‘IIT Madras for All’ vision of Prof. V. Kamakoti, IIT Madras has launched several initiatives including the B.Sc. degree in Electronics in the country that provides no age bar and multiple exit options and is open to students across India. It will also help the nation achieve its goals under India Semiconductor Mission.

Further, under this initiative, a total of 87 Government School students across more than 20 districts in Tamil Nadu have received admissions for the BS Degree in Data Science and Applications, a four-year course that was first introduced by IIT Madras in 2021 with the aim of making the Institute's quality education accessible to all.

Started in 2015, NIRF outlines a methodology to rank educational institutions across the country. The parameters used for ranking broadly cover “Teaching, Learning and Resources,” “Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcome,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,” and “Perception.”