The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has once again secured the top spot in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by the Union Ministry of Education. The results were announced today in New Delhi.

IIT Madras has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Engineering’ category for the 10th year in a row. It also held the No.1 position in the ‘Overall’ category for the 7th straight year. The Institute was also placed No.1 in the new ‘Sustainability Development Goals’ category.

In the ‘Innovations’ category, IIT Madras moved up from last year’s No.2 rank to No.1 this year. It retained its No.2 rank in the ‘Research Institutions’ category, behind the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan congratulated all institutions. He said the expansion of NIRF to 17 categories this year reflects the diversity of Indian higher education. He stressed that rankings and accreditation will improve quality and help achieve the National Education Policy target of 9 crore higher education students by 2030.

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, received the award along with senior faculty members. He thanked students, faculty, alumni, and staff for their efforts. “Consistency at the top is the result of teamwork,” he said, adding that IIT Madras will continue its work towards Viksit Bharat@2047.

IIT Madras has been active in innovation. In 2024–25, it incubated more than 100 start-ups and filed 417 patents, crossing its goal of ‘One Patent a Day.’ It also became the first IIT to open a foreign campus, IITM Zanzibar, and launched admissions under sports, fine arts, and cultural excellence quotas.

The Institute also set up the School of Sustainability in 2023 and the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2025 to boost deep-tech start-ups and global collaborations.

On the global front, IIT Madras improved its position in the QS World University Rankings 2026, moving up from 227 to 180.