NIRF Ranking 2025: Jadavpur top state university, IGNOU best open institution, Symbiosis ahead in skilling
K. Nitika Shivani | September 4, 2025 | 01:08 PM IST | 2 mins read
NIRF 2025 Ranking: Calcutta University, Savitribai Phule Pune University no longer among top 10 state universities; KSOU, UPRTOU among top open universities
Jadavpur University in Kolkata is the top state public university in the country, Indira Gandhi National Open University is the best open university and the Symbiosis Skills and Professional University in Pune secured the highest rank among skill universities, on National Institutional Ranking Framework’s lists of state public, open and skill universities, respectively.
Live Updates: NIRF Ranking 2025
All three categories were included last year. The NIRF Ranking 2025, the 10th edition, was announced on Thursday, September 4. This year, NIRF covered 14,163 participating institutions across 17 categories. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is again the top engineering college and at the top in overall rankings; I ndian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore is the top university and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad the top MBA school.
Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other speakers, who released the rankings, said the new categories mark a recognition of India’s evolving education priorities. The framework, he said, seeks to reward not just academic and research excellence but also innovation, accessibility and the delivery of workforce-ready skills critical to a growing economy.
NIRF University Ranking 2025: State universities
Jadavpur University in West Bengal has overtaken Anna University to become the top state institution. Punjab University is now in third position. Savitribai Phule Pune University and Calcutta University, in positions three and four, respectively, last year, are not among the top 10 this year. The top 10 institutions in NIRF ranking 2025’s state university category are given below.
NIRF Ranking 2025: Top 10 state universities
|
Rank |
University |
State |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Jadavpur University |
Kolkata, West Bengal |
|
2 |
Anna University |
Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
|
3 |
Punjab University |
Chandigarh |
|
4 |
Andhra University |
Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh |
|
5 |
Kerala University |
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
|
6 |
Cochin University of Science and Technology |
Cochin, Kerala |
|
7 |
Osmania University |
Hyderabad, Telangana |
|
8 |
University of Kashmir |
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir |
|
9 |
Gauhati University |
Guwahati, Assam |
|
10 |
Bharathiar University |
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu |
Gauhati University has joined the top 10.
NIRF Open University Ranking 2025
Among open universities, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) New Delhi has retained the top spot but the other two spots in top three have new occupants.
Netaji Subhash Open University, West Bengal, and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University in Gujarat, have both slipped out of top three, replaced by Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) in Mysuru and UP Rajarshi Tandon Open University in Prayagraj.
NIRF 2025: Top open universities
|
Rank |
University |
State |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) |
New Delhi |
|
2 |
Karnataka state open University |
Mysore, Karnataka |
|
3 |
U.P Rajarshi Tandon Open University |
Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh |
NIRF ranking of skill universities
Like in the case of open universities, the top spot has the same institution as last year’s NIRF rankings but the second and third positions have seen changes. Shri Vishwakarma Skill University in Haryana has been pushed to the third position.
|
Rank |
Name of University |
State |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Symbiosis Skills and Professional University (formerly Symbiosis Skill and Open University) |
Pune, Maharashtra |
|
2 |
Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences |
Indore, Madhya Pradesh |
|
3 |
Shri Vishwakarma Skill University |
Palwal, Haryana |
Skill-based institutions were ranked separately for their role in bridging industry demands with education.
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