Top 10 Universities in India (2026)
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru is the best university in India according to the government's National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), and it has held the top spot in the university category every year since the rankings began in 2016.
The full ranking — 10 picks
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Top pickRank 1. Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
Bengaluru, KarnatakaFounded in 1909 with support from Jamsetji Tata, IISc is India's leading research university and has ranked first in the NIRF university category every year since 2016. It is best known for science and engineering research and admits undergraduates to a four-year research-focused BS programme as well as postgraduate and PhD students.
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Rank 2. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
New DelhiEstablished in 1969, JNU is a central university known for social sciences, international studies, languages and life sciences. It is mainly a postgraduate and research university, admits students through national entrance exams, and has produced many diplomats, civil servants and academics. It ranked second in NIRF 2025.
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Rank 3. Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Manipal, KarnatakaMAHE grew from Kasturba Medical College, founded in 1953, and is the highest-ranked private university in India. It has a large residential campus in Manipal and offers medicine, engineering, management and many other programmes. It ranked third in NIRF 2025.
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Rank 4. Jamia Millia Islamia
New DelhiFounded in 1920 during the freedom movement and a central university since 1988, Jamia is known for engineering, architecture, law, mass communication and its residential coaching academy for civil services aspirants. It ranked fourth in the NIRF 2025 university category.
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Rank 5. University of Delhi
DelhiFounded in 1922, Delhi University is one of the largest universities in India, with dozens of affiliated colleges including St. Stephen's, Hindu, Miranda House and Shri Ram College of Commerce. Admission to its undergraduate courses is through CUET. It moved up from sixth to fifth in NIRF 2025.
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Rank 6. Banaras Hindu University (BHU)
Varanasi, Uttar PradeshFounded by Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1916, BHU has one of the largest residential campuses in Asia, with faculties from arts and science to medicine and agriculture. The IIT (BHU) sits on the same campus but is ranked separately. BHU ranked sixth in NIRF 2025.
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Rank 7. BITS Pilani
Pilani, RajasthanThe Birla Institute of Technology and Science is a private deemed university with campuses in Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai. It admits students through its own entrance test, BITSAT, and is known for engineering, science and a strong startup culture among alumni. It rose to seventh in NIRF 2025.
#7NIRF 2025 1964deemed university Private, deemed universitytypePhoto: Wikipedia/Wikimedia · Wikipedia (editorial use) -
Rank 8. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Coimbatore, Tamil NaduAmrita is a private deemed university with campuses in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere, run by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math. It offers engineering, medicine, management and sciences, and has a large hospital in Kochi. It ranked eighth in NIRF 2025.
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Rank 9. Jadavpur University
Kolkata, West BengalJadavpur University became a university in 1955 but traces its roots to the National Council of Education set up in 1906 during the Swadeshi movement. It is the highest-ranked state university in the NIRF 2025 university category and is known for engineering, humanities and low fees.
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Rank 10. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)
Aligarh, Uttar PradeshAMU grew out of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College founded by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in 1875 and became a university in 1920. The central university has a large residential campus and faculties from law and medicine to engineering. It ranked tenth in the NIRF 2025 university category.
#10NIRF 2025 1920university since Central universitytypePhoto: Wikipedia/Wikimedia · Wikipedia (editorial use)
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How this list was made
Jawaharlal Nehru University is second and Manipal Academy of Higher Education third, with Jamia Millia Islamia and the University of Delhi completing the top five.
This list follows the NIRF 2025 university rankings, published by the Ministry of Education on 4 September 2025. As of September 2026 the NIRF 2026 results have not been released, so the 2025 ranking is the latest official one. We will update this page when the new ranking is published. NIRF scores institutions on teaching and resources, research, graduate outcomes, outreach and inclusivity, and perception. The university category is separate from the engineering, medical, management and law categories, so IITs, which are ranked on their own, do not appear here. For engineering colleges, see our separate list.
About this list
Top 10 Universities in India (2026) runs from 1 to 10. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) takes the top spot, and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) closes it out at number 10. It was first published on 24 September 2026.
Spotted something out of date, or an entry you would rank differently? Tell us — the order on this page is revised as the picks change.
