The Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was adjudged the best university in the eighth edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings 2023. It achieved the laurel for the seventh straight year.
Of the 100 best universities across India, 44 are from the southern states and Union Territories (UTs), including five in the top 10, according to the report.
Minister of State for Education and External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Monday, 5 June, released the NIRF rankings — a method used by Union Education Ministry to rank higher education institutions in the country.
We are delighted to share that IISc has once again been ranked #1 in the University and Research categories of the #NIRFRanking!https://t.co/w8fjK4vGDEhttps://t.co/shPXHCygDH@EduMinOfIndia pic.twitter.com/kIG44x3Dzs
— IISc Bangalore (@iiscbangalore) June 5, 2023
NIRF Rankings 2023: IIT Madras, IISc Bengaluru from South India in top 100
44 Universities from South India
The NIRF is prepared by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) — one of the two major bodies responsible for the accreditation of higher education institutions, the other being the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
It ranked the universities on five parameters: teaching learning and resources, research and professional practice, graduation outcome, outreach and inclusivity, and peer perception.


Apart from the IISc Bengaluru, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Karnataka, sixth), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (seventh) and Vellore Institute of Technology (eighth) from Tamil Nadu, and University of Hyderabad (10th) also made into the top 10.
A total of 22 Universities from Tamil Nadu, the highest across the states in the country, featured in the top 100 list, as per the report.
Next among the southern states was Karnataka, with as many as 10 varsities in the top 100.
It is followed by Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, with four Universities each in the NIRF rankings.
While the Mahatma Gandhi University (Kottayam, 31st rank) and Cochin University of Science and Technology (37th) made it from Kerala, Andhra University (Visakhapatnam, 44th) was included from Andhra Pradesh.
Three Hyderabad-based Universities from Telangana also found a spot in the top 100: the International Institute of Information Technology (84th), the University of Hyderabad (10th), and Osmania University (36th).
Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth Mahatma Gandhi Medical College from Puducherry was ranked 77th in the NIRF Rankings.
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South institutions shine in other categories
Beginning with four categories in 2016, the NIRF has 13 in its 2023 edition and is said to be the largest in its scope thus far.
At least one educational institution from South India has made it into the top three of each category except for agriculture and allied sectors.
IISc Bengaluru is ranked first across the Indian Universities and Research Institutions categories.
While Presidency College in Chennai finished second in the Colleges section, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Bengaluru secured the second position among the top MBA institutions in the country.
The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru and NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad were adjudged first and third, respectively, among the top law institutions in the country.
We are delighted to announce that NLSIU has retained its No. 1 position among law institutions in the National Institutional Ranking Framework for the 6th year in a row! NLSIU Registrar Prof. N S Nigam @nsnigam received the award on Monday.
Read more: https://t.co/MK1KsYXqtd pic.twitter.com/G1TxdSKxW7
— NLSIU (@NLSIUofficial) June 5, 2023
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Hyderabad topped the Pharmacy category while the Christian Medical College in Vellore finished second among Dental institutions.
NIT Calicut secured the second position among top Architecture institutions, while IIT Madras and Hyderabad finished second and third, respectively, among top institutions in Innovations.