Top Universities in India 2025: The higher education
landscape in India is rich and diverse, and many of its universities are often
ranked among the best in the world. This article provides a brief summary of
several top universities in India, and highlights their distinctive features
and advantages.
central and state universities are public universities that
are funded by the government to reduce the cost of education for students.
These are the most prominent sources of higher education in India, where
students can study their desired courses like Engineering, MBBS, MBA, Law and
other undergraduate and postgraduate level academic programs.
On the other hand, private universities are self-financed
educational institutions and they admit students in undergraduate and
postgraduate level courses. All these types of universities are recognized by
the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India. Private universities in India
offer a number of courses at undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and
integrated levels. Apart from regular undergraduate and postgraduate programs,
a wide range of courses are also available that include online and distance
learning options.
UGC has introduced the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)
for admissions to the universities in India. The CUET exam is conducted in a
computer-based format. Initially, CUCET was conducted by the UGC using the
paper-and-pencil method. CUET is a part of the National Education Policy
(NEP-2020).
CUET UG: CUET UG stands for Central Universities Entrance
Test (Undergraduate). It is an all-India level entrance exam conducted by the
National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to UG courses offered at all
participating institutes.
CUET-PG: An all-India level entrance exam, the Central
University Entrance Test (Postgraduate) or CUET PG, is being implemented for
admission to postgraduate studies in central and participating universities.
Through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), candidates from across the
country will have a common platform and equal access to opportunities.
Apart from CUET all the central, state and private universities accept national level entrance exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, CLAT, CMAT and other state level entrance exams. Some of the private universities are conducting their own entrance exams like VITEEE, SRMJEEE, KIITEE etc.
Top Government Universities in India:
The table below shows the top 10 government universities in India along with the location and NIRF Rankings.
Name of the University | Location | NIRF Ranking |
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) | Bangalore | 1 |
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) | New Delhi | 2 |
Jamia Millia Islamia | New Delhi | 3 |
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) | Varanasi | 5 |
University of Delhi (DU) | Delhi | 6 |
Aligarh Muslim University | Aligarh | 8 |
Jadavpur University | Kolkata | 9 |
Anna University | Chennai | 13 |
Homi Bhabha National Institute | Mumbai | 16 |
University of Hyderabad (UoH) | Hyderabad | 17 |
Top Private Universities in India: NIRF Ranking 2024
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) conducts annual rankings of colleges, universities and institutes. The ranking is based on various parameters and rankings change year on year depending on college, universities and institutes performances. Following is a list of top 10 private universities in India ranked by NIRF under the Universities category.
Name of University | Location | NIRF Ranking | Course Offered |
Manipal Academy of Higher Education | Manipal | 4 | UG & PG Courses |
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham | Coimbatore | 7 | UG & PG Courses |
Vellore Institute of Technology | Vellore | 10 | UG & PG Courses |
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | Chennai | 11 | UG & PG Courses |
SRM Institute of Science and Technology | Chennai | 12 | UG & PG Courses |
Shiksha O Anusandhan | Bhubaneswar | 14 | UG & PG Courses |
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) | Bhubaneswar | 15 | UG & PG Courses |
Birla Institute of Technology and Science | Pilani | 19 | UG & PG Courses |
Chandigarh University | Chandigarh | 20 | UG & PG Courses |
Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation University | Vaddeswaram | 22 | UG & PG Courses |
Government MBA Colleges or Universities in India for MBA Programs: There are many prestigious government institutes in India that offer top-tier MBA programs. Based on various rankings and available data, here are the top 10 government MBA colleges in India:
Name of University | Location | NIRF Ranking |
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) | Ahmedabad | 1 |
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) | Bangalore | 2 |
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) | Kozhikode | 3 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Delhi | 4 |
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) | Calcutta | 5 |
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) | Mumbai | 6 |
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) | Lucknow | 7 |
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) | Indore | 8 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Bombay | 10 |
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) | Rohtak | 12 |
Private MBA Colleges or Universities in India for MBA Programs: There are many prestigious private institutes in India that offer top-tier MBA programs. Based on various rankings and available data, here are the top 10 private MBA colleges in India:
Name of University | Location | NIRF Ranking | Application Status |
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management | Mumbai | 21 | Closed/Know More |
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham | Coimbatore | 28 | Open/Know More |
Amity University | Noida | 29 | Open/Apply Now |
Chandigarh University | Chandigarh | 37 | Open/Apply Now |
Lovely Professional University | Phagwara | 38 | Open/Apply Now |
ICFAI Hyderabad | Hyderabad | 39 | Open/Apply Now |
UPES Dehradun | Dehradun | 41 | Open/Apply Now |
XIM University | Bhubaneswar | 43 | Open/Know More |
Thapar University | Chandigarh | 44 | Open/Know More |
Chitkara University | Chandigarh | 54 | Open/Know More |
Best government university for Btech in India: Among India’s top Engineering colleges are 23 IITs, 31 NITs, and 25 IIITs. JEE Main and JEE Advanced are the main entrance exams accepted by leading engineering institutions in India. IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Roorkee are among the top government universities in India for engineering.
Name of University | Location | NIRF Ranking |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Madras | 1 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Delhi | 2 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Bombay | 3 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Kanpur | 4 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Kharagpur | 5 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Roorkee | 6 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Guwahati | 7 |
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Hyderabad | 8 |
National Institute of Technology (NIT) | Tiruchirappalli | 9 |
Indian Institute of Technology, BHU | Varanasi | 10 |
Top Private Universities in India for Engineering: As per the current NIRF Ranking 2024, the top 10 private universities in India for engineering are given below:
Name of University | Location | NIRF Ranking | Admission Status |
Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) | Vellore | 11 | Open/Know More |
SRM University | Chennai | 13 | Open/Know More |
BITS Pilani | Pilani | 20 | Open/Know More |
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham | Coimbatore | 23 | Open/Know More |
Shiksha O Anusandhan | Bhubaneswar | 26 | Open/Know More |
Thapar University | Patiala | 29 | Open/Know More |
Amity University | Noida | 30 | Open/Apply Now |
Chandigarh University | Chandigarh | 32 | Open/Apply Now |
KL University | Vaddeswaram | 35 | Open/Apply Now |
KIIT University | Bhubaneshwar | 37 | Open/Know More |