State and 'deemed' varsities emerge well in NIRF ranking; JNU ranks second, Jamia follows

State universities as well as 'deemed-to-be' varsities have emerged prominently in the latest National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), which was announced by the Union Education Ministry on Monday.

In top 100 higher education institutions (HEIs) under the 'Overall' category, there are seven central universities, 24 deemed-to-be universities, seven private universities, 26 state universities, and 36 INIs (IITs, NITs).

M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, UGC said, "Though institutions of national importance (INIs) continue to maintain major presence, it can be seen that state universities have come up well followed by deemed-to-be universities. This signals the potential of state universities in India... Considering that the total number of central universities is still small, they also have good presence in the top 100 list. As most of the private universities in India have come up in the last decade, their pace of growth in terms of quality may take further time."

Kumar further said that deemed-to-be universities have gained momentum in quality in the university category, followed by private universities. Here too, private universities have good presence. Considering the number of central universities, the percentage representation is higher.

According to the UGC, the top 100 HEIs under the 'Engineering' category comprises four central universities, 21 deemed-to-be universities, 13 private universities, nine state universities and 50 INIs amongst others.

"The majority of the institutions listed fall under the category of INIs. Substantial representation of deemed-to-be universities is visible. There is a significant presence of private universities too. As against general belief, state universities also have strong presence in engineering education," the UGC chairman asserted.

Accoring to the UGC, deemed-to-be and private universities have also done well in the top HEIs under the 'Medical' category. In top 50 medical institutions, there are two central universities, eight deemed-to-be universities, 13 private universities, 17 state universities and 10 INIs.