NIRF Ranking 2026 Engineering: Status, Top IITs, NITs & Private

NIRF ranking 2026 has not been released yet. As of 23 September 2026, the official NIRF website still shows 2025 as the latest edition, so this article uses the official NIRF 2025 engineering list, where IIT Madras is No. 1 with a score of 88.72.

Below you will find the NIRF 2025 top 10, the best NITs, IIITs, government and private colleges from the list, how the score is calculated, and how to use NIRF sensibly during JoSAA 2027 and other counselling.

Important: We will update this page once the Ministry of Education officially releases NIRF 2026 on nirfindia.org. Any "NIRF 2026 list" you see before that on social media or unofficial sites is not official.

Has NIRF ranking 2026 been released?

No. As of 23 September 2026, the Ministry of Education has not released NIRF 2026, and nirfindia.org lists 2025 as the latest year. News reports expected a September 2026 release, but no official date has been announced. NIRF 2025, released on 4 September 2025, remains the latest official ranking.

NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) is run by the Ministry of Education. It ranks institutions in several categories such as Overall, University, Engineering, Management, Medical, Law and Research. For JEE aspirants, the Engineering category is the one that matters most.

Which are the top 10 engineering colleges in NIRF 2025?

In NIRF 2025 Engineering, IIT Madras is first (88.72), followed by IIT Delhi (85.74), IIT Bombay (83.65), IIT Kanpur (81.82) and IIT Kharagpur (78.69). NIT Tiruchirappalli at rank 9 is the only non-IIT in the top 10. The table below is taken from the official NIRF 2025 list.

The top 10 barely changed from 2024. The only swap was IIT Hyderabad moving up to 7 and IIT Guwahati moving down to 8. This stability is normal, because the parameters NIRF measures (faculty, research, PhD output) change slowly.

IIT Madras has been first in engineering in every edition since the engineering ranking started in 2016. It was also first in the 2025 Overall category, ahead of IISc Bengaluru.

Also readColleges for Low JEE Main Rank 2027: Options by Percentile Band

Where do the newer IITs rank in NIRF 2025?

All 22 IITs that appear in the NIRF 2025 engineering top 100 are listed below. After the older IITs, IIT Indore (12), IIT (ISM) Dhanbad (15) and IIT Patna (19) lead the second-generation IITs, while the newest IITs such as Jammu, Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai and Dharwad sit between ranks 56 and 77.

The remaining nine IITs in the top 100 (Madras, Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Hyderabad, Guwahati and BHU) are in the top 10 table above. So every IIT in the list is within the top 80, but the gap between an old IIT and a new one is large, often 20 or more score points.

Should this change your JoSAA choices? Only partly. A newer IIT gives you the IIT tag, a strong peer group and access to IIT internships, but an older NIT may offer a better-known branch, stronger alumni network or a larger campus placement drive. Compare branch-wise data for both before you lock choices. If you are aiming for an IIT, start with our JEE Advanced 2027 exam date and eligibility guide.

Which NITs rank highest in NIRF 2025?

NIT Tiruchirappalli (rank 9) is the best-ranked NIT in NIRF 2025 engineering, followed by NIT Rourkela (13), NIT Karnataka Surathkal (17), NIT Calicut (21) and NIT Warangal (28). Around 22 NITs appear in the top 100, so most well-known NITs are ranked.

Other NITs in the 2025 top 100 include MANIT Bhopal (81), NIT Jamshedpur (82), NIT Meghalaya (83), NIT Kurukshetra (85), NIT Raipur (86), NIT Hamirpur (97) and NIT Puducherry (99).

If your rank is not enough for the top NITs, do not lose hope. Newer and smaller NITs often have much higher closing ranks, especially under home state quota. Our guide on NITs you can get with a low JEE Main rank explains this in detail.

Which are the best private engineering colleges in NIRF 2025?

BITS Pilani is the best-ranked private institute at rank 11, followed by SRM Chennai (14), VIT Vellore (16), Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (22), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (23) and Thapar Institute (29). Many of these admit students through their own entrance tests (such as BITSAT, VITEEE, SRMJEEE, KIITEE and MET), and some also accept JEE Main scores.

Admission routes change from year to year, so confirm them on each college's official admission page. For exam dates, see our guide on BITSAT, VITEEE, COMEDK and other engineering entrance exams 2027, and for JEE Main-based options, read private engineering colleges accepting JEE Main score.

Also readNITs for Low JEE Main Rank 2027: Closing Ranks and Home State Quota

Which government colleges and IIITs are in the NIRF 2025 top 100?

Several state and central universities rank well. Jadavpur University (18) and Anna University (20) lead this group, followed by Jamia Millia Islamia (24), Delhi Technological University (30), Aligarh Muslim University (34) and ICT Mumbai (41). Among IIITs, IIIT Hyderabad (38), IIIT Delhi (63) and IIIT Bangalore (69) are in the top 100.

• Delhi colleges: DTU (30), NIT Delhi (65), NSUT (70) and IIIT Delhi (63).
• State technical universities: IIEST Shibpur (54), MMMUT Gorakhpur (60) and COEP Technological University (90).
• Other IIITs: ABV-IIITM Gwalior (96).

Many of these colleges fill seats through state counselling or JAC Delhi rather than JoSAA. If you are looking at state-level admission through JEE Main, read our state counselling guide for UPTAC, BCECE and ACPC.

How is the NIRF engineering ranking calculated?

NIRF scores each institute out of 100 on five parameters: Teaching, Learning and Resources (30%), Research and Professional Practice (30%), Graduation Outcomes (20%), Outreach and Inclusivity (10%) and Perception (10%). Institutes submit data themselves, and NIRF adds data from sources such as publication databases.

Look at the sub-scores, not just the total. For example, in NIRF 2025, IIT Madras scored 100 on perception, while several private universities score high on outreach but low on perception. If placements matter most to you, focus on the Graduation Outcomes score.

You can go one step deeper. Institutes that take part in NIRF publish the data they submitted, such as student strength, median salary of graduates and number of PhD students, on their own websites, usually on a page named "NIRF". Opening this file for two colleges you are comparing often tells you more about placements and batch size than the final rank. Read it with care, since the figures are reported by the institute itself.

How should you use NIRF ranking 2026 in JoSAA and other counselling?

Use NIRF as one filter, not the final answer. It ranks whole institutes, mostly on research and resources. For choice filling, combine it with branch preference, previous closing ranks, placement data, location, fees and home state quota. A strong branch at a rank-40 NIT can beat a weak branch at a rank-15 one.

1. Check your realistic range first. Convert your percentile to a rank using our JEE Main percentile vs rank guide.
2. Shortlist by closing ranks. Use last year's JoSAA final-round closing ranks for your category and quota.
3. Then sort by NIRF. Within your shortlist, a better NIRF rank usually means better faculty and research facilities.
4. Check the branch. NIRF does not rank branches. Look at the department's placement report.
5. Fill choices wisely. Our JoSAA counselling 2027 guide explains how to order your choices.

Tip: A college not appearing in NIRF does not always mean it is bad. Some institutes do not participate, and NIRF publishes exact ranks only for the top 100 in engineering; the rest are shown in rank bands such as 101–150 and 151–200.

If you have a modest JEE rank, our main guide on colleges for low JEE Main rank brings together NITs, IIITs, GFTIs, state and private options by rank band, and you can cross-check each against this NIRF list.

What may change when NIRF 2026 is released?

Big jumps at the very top are unlikely, because the top eight IITs have held nearly the same positions for years. Movement is more common between ranks 20 and 100, where small score differences change positions. Newer IITs, top NITs and research-focused private universities are the ones to watch.

Once NIRF 2026 is out, compare each college's rank with its 2025 rank before trusting a single year's jump or fall. A consistent trend over three years is more meaningful than one big move.

Also remember that NIRF 2026 will be based on data from earlier academic years, not on this year's batch. So it reflects how an institute has been doing recently, not what will happen during your four years. Treat it as a useful signal, and pair it with current information such as the latest placement report and faculty strength of your chosen department.

Final Word: what should you do next?

NIRF ranking 2026 is still awaited, so NIRF 2025 is the most reliable official list right now. Use it with closing ranks and branch data, not alone.

• Bookmark nirfindia.org and check the Engineering category once NIRF 2026 is announced.
• Note the NIRF 2025 rank and score of every college on your shortlist.
• Look at the Graduation Outcomes sub-score if placements are your priority.
• Compare with JoSAA closing ranks for your category and home state.
• Keep a backup list of private and state colleges from the top 100.
• Revisit this page after the NIRF 2026 release for the updated tables.