NIRF Ranking 2026: Major Changes in University Rankings Over Past 5 Years
Selecting the right university for students is one of the biggest decisions and requires a lot of thought process. They must consider various factors such as courses, admission process, NIRF ranking, placement statistics, fees, faculty and campus facilities. Higher education institutions in India are considered commonly based on the NIRF rankings. The NIRF ranking helps students to understand the performance of university in various factors such as teaching, learning & resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practise (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI), and Peer Perception (PP).
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This Story also Contains
- NIRF University Ranking 2026 : Which Universities Improved the Most?
- NIRF University Ranking 2026 : Which Universities Declined the Most?
- NIRF University Ranking 2026 : Which Universities Recorded Major Changes?
- Why Five Year NIRF Ranking Trends Matter in Choosing a Right University?
- What Factors are Necessary for Choosing a University apart from NIRF Ranking?
- NIRF University Rankings : Highlights
The NIRF ranking changes every year based on the performance of the universities in every academic year. Thus, choosing a university solely based on its ranking for 1 year does not justify its performance. In this article, let’s have a look at the changes in university rankings over the past five years.
NIRF University Ranking 2026 : Which Universities Improved the Most?
According to the NIRF reports of the past five years from 2021 to 2025, UPES Dehradun has seen a major change in NIRF rankings from 100 in 2021 to 45 in 2025. The university has improved a lot from 2021 to 2025 with an improvement of 55 positions. Similarly, Graphic Era University NIRF ranking is also increased from 98 in 2021 to 48 in 2025, resulting in an improvement of 50 positions. Jain University ranking is also increased from 99 in 2021 to 62 in 2025 with an improvement of 37 positions. The detailed changes of university rankings are mentioned in the table given below.
University Name | 2021 Rank | 2025 Rank | Change |
UPES | 100 | 45 | +55 |
Graphic Era University | 98 | 48 | +50 |
Jain University, Bengaluru | 99 | 62 | +37 |
Chandigarh University | 52 | 19 | +33 |
Lovely Professional University (LPU) | 62 | 31 | +31 |
Chettinad Academy of Research & Education | 92 | 61 | +31 |
IIIT Hyderabad | 83 | 55 | +28 |
BBAU, Lucknow | 65 | 37 | +28 |
Kalasalingam Academy of Research & Education | 50 | 28 | +22 |
Bharathidasan University | 57 | 36 | +21 |
NIRF University Ranking 2026 : Which Universities Declined the Most?
Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology has recorded a major decline in the university ranking from 19 in 2021 to 71 in 2025 with a decline of 52 positions. Similarly, Savitribai Phule Pune University also saw a decline in ranking from 11 in 2021 to 56 in 2025 with a decline of 45 positions. University of Calcutta has also recorded a decline in ranking from 4 in 2021 to 39 in 2025 with a decline of 35 positions.
University Name | 2021 Rank | 2025 Rank | Change |
Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology | 19 | 71 | −52 |
Savitribai Phule Pune University | 11 | 56 | −45 |
University of Calcutta | 4 | 39 | −35 |
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) | 37 | 72 | −35 |
Tezpur University | 46 | 79 | −33 |
Visva-Bharati | 64 | 97 | −33 |
Bharathiar University | 14 | 46 | −32 |
Banasthali Vidyapith | 35 | 66 | −31 |
Gujarat University | 43 | 74 | −31 |
Bharath Institute of Higher Education & Research | 51 | 76 | −25 |
Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT Mumbai) | 15 | 40 | −25 |
GITAM | 67 | 92 | −25 |
Periyar University | 73 | 94 | −21 |
NIRF University Ranking 2026 : Which Universities Recorded Major Changes?
Over the past five years, UPES Dehradun has recorded the biggest change with an improvement of 55 positions from 100 in 2021 to 45 in 2025. However, Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology has recorded the biggest decline with 52 positions from 19 in 2021 to 71 in 2025. Graphic Era University has also recorded improvement in its ranking with 98 in 2021 to 48 in 2025 with a growth of 50 positions.
University Name | 2021 Rank | 2025 Rank | Net Movement |
UPES | 100 | 45 | +55 |
Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology | 19 | 71 | −52 |
Graphic Era University | 98 | 48 | +50 |
Savitribai Phule Pune University | 11 | 56 | −45 |
Jain University | 99 | 62 | +37 |
University of Calcutta | 4 | 39 | −35 |
TISS | 37 | 72 | −35 |
Chandigarh University | 52 | 19 | +33 |
Tezpur University | 46 | 79 | −33 |
Visva-Bharati | 64 | 97 | −33 |
Bharathiar University | 14 | 46 | −32 |
LPU | 62 | 31 | +31 |
Chettinad Academy | 92 | 61 | +31 |
Banasthali Vidyapith | 35 | 66 | −31 |
Gujarat University | 43 | 74 | −31 |
Why Five Year NIRF Ranking Trends Matter in Choosing a Right University?
Several students select their universities by considering NIRF ranking as one of its factors. In such cases, candidates should not consider the ranking of one year as the university ranking changes every year. It is best to consider the university’s ranking for the past four to five years, as it gives a better clarity on the performance of the university.
For instance, University of Calcutta recorded 4th position in 2021 and the ranking is decreased to 39 in 2025. Students' opinion can be changed as it was ranked in 4th place in 2021 and reduced to 39th position in 2025. Similarly, many students might not even heard of UPES Dehradun in 2021 as it was ranked at 100th position. In 2025, it gained 55 positions and ranked at 45th place with better placements compared to 2021.
What Factors are Necessary for Choosing a University apart from NIRF Ranking?
Candidates should know that NIRF ranking solely does not justify a factor in selecting the right university. There are several other factors like:
Courses offered
Admission eligibility
Entrance exams
Tuition and other fees
Placement statistics and median salary
Faculty and academic infrastructure
Higher education opportunities
Hostel and campus facilities
Internship opportunities
Research opportunities
NIRF University Rankings : Highlights
Some universities recorded better improvement while other universities showed decreases in NIRF rankings from 2021 to 2025.
NIRF University Ranking : Top Rises from 2021 to 2025
UPES Dehradun recorded the largest rank jump with 55 positions from 100 in 2021 to 45 in 2025.
Graphic Era University recorded the second highest jump with 50 places from 98 to 48.
Chandigarh University broke into the top 20, improving by 33 positions from rank 52 to rank 19.
Jain University, Bengaluru climbed 37 positions, moving up from near the bottom of the table at rank 99 to rank 62.
Lovely Professional University (LPU) and Chettinad Academy of Research & Education tied in progress, both advancing 31 positions to land at ranks 31 and 61 respectively.
IIIT Hyderabad and BBAU, Lucknow matched each other's gains, both jumping 28 places to reach ranks 55 and 37 respectively.
NIRF University’s Ranking Slide from 2021 to 2025
Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology suffered the largest decline overall, dropping 52 positions from rank 19 in 2021 down to rank 71 in 2025.
Savitribai Phule Pune University fell sharply out of the top 15, losing 45 places from rank 11 down to rank 56.
University of Calcutta dropped out of the top 5, moving down 35 spots from rank 4 in 2021 to rank 39 in 2025.
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) dropped by 35 places, shifting from rank 37 down to rank 72.
Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT Mumbai) lost its top-15 position, falling 25 places from rank 15 to rank 40.
Visva-Bharati narrowly retained its place in the top 100, falling 33 positions from rank 64 down to rank 97.
Banasthali Vidyapith and Gujarat University experienced identical drops, both falling 31 places to ranks 66 and 74 respectively.
