IIM Ahmedabad is the number 1 management college in India, as per the latest National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025, released on September 4. Just like in the previous year, IIM Bangalore has secured the second position, while IIM Kozhikode claimed the third spot, reflecting the continued dominance of IIMs in the management category. NIRF Rankings 2025 | Overall Category | Engineering Colleges | Top Universities | Top Colleges | Top MBA Colleges | Law | State Public Universities | Medical | Research | Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the national rankings in New Delhi. IIT Delhi is the only IIT to feature in the top 10 list this year. Meanwhile, IIM Calcutta has slipped from fifth place in 2024 to seventh in 2025. MDI Gurgaon has returned to the elite top 10 category this year, while XLRI has loss one position - from number 9 to 10. In the overall category, IIT-Madras and IISc Bangalore have retained their positions. Since 2016, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad has consistently secured the number one position in the NIRF Management Rankings. It was followed by IIM Bangalore in second place, while IIM Kozhikode climbed to the third spot this year, pushing IIM Calcutta down to fourth. In a notable trend, engineering institutes have begun making their presence felt in the top 10 list of management schools. Last year, the list saw two significant new entries: NITIE Mumbai (now IIM Mumbai) at the seventh position and IIT Bombay at number 10. Moreover, none of the top management college has secured rank in the top 10 in the overall category. This year’s rankings were announced across 17 categories — Overall, Universities, Colleges, Research Institutions, Innovation, Open Universities, State Public Universities, Skill Universities and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The participation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the NIRF rankings has also increased from 3,565 in 2016 to 14,163 in 2025. Concurrently, the number of categories and subject domains has expanded from four in 2016 to 17 in 2025.
