VMPL
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 19: IISc Bengaluru leads the University Rankings with 84.53, while Manipal Academy of Higher Education takes second place and Jawaharlal Nehru University emerges as the strongest performer on Governance & Outcomes. Leading the way in private education, MAHE Manipal crowns the IIRC India (University) Rankings 2026 as the country’s No. 1 private deemed-to-be university.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru has secured the top position in the IIRC India (University) Rankings 2026, recording an overall score of 84.53 out of 100. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal follows at Rank 2 with 72.66, while Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi takes the third position with 70.38. One of the most significant findings of this year's rankings comes from the Governance & Outcomes pillar, where JNU recorded 34.40 out of 40 - the highest score among all universities assessed in the IIRC University category.
The IIRC India University Rankings 2026 assessed universities across India through three broad performance pillars - Institutional Strength, Academic Capability, and Governance & Outcomes - with a consolidated institutional score calculated out of 100.
The results present a differentiated picture of Indian higher education, showing how leading universities perform across institutional capacity, academic and research-related indicators, student outcomes, inclusivity and governance-related measures.
IISc establishes a clear overall lead: IISc Bengaluru emerged as the strongest overall performer, recording 30.03 out of 34 in Institutional Strength and 22.92 out of 26 in Academic Capability. Its overall score of 84.53 places the institution substantially ahead of other universities in the category and reflects its strong performance across academic resources, research-related indicators and institutional capacity.
Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, ranked second nationally with an overall score of 72.66. The result also places MAHE at No. 1, as the highest-ranked privately managed/deemed-to-be university in the IIRC India University Rankings 2026.
While IISc leads the combined rankings, the Governance & Outcomes pillar produces a different national picture. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, recorded the highest Governance & Outcomes score at 34.40 out of 40, followed by the University of Delhi at 33.38 and Jamia Millia Islamia at 32.47. This places Delhi-based universities in the top three positions on this particular pillar.
Delhi and Karnataka emerge strongly at the top: The geographical distribution of the leading universities also presents an interesting picture. Karnataka occupies the top two positions, represented by IISc Bengaluru and MAHE Manipal. Delhi follows with three consecutive universities in the upper section of the rankings — Jawaharlal Nehru University at Rank 3, University of Delhi at Rank 4 and Jamia Millia Islamia at Rank 5. Banaras Hindu University is ranked sixth, followed by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, BITS Pilani, Aligarh Muslim University and Jadavpur University, completing the national Top 10. The group represents a diverse combination of research-intensive institutions, central universities and privately managed/deemed-to-be universities, reflecting the variety of institutional models operating within Indian higher education.
Methodology and Media Clarification: The IIRC India (University) Rankings are independently produced by the India Institutional Ranking Consortium (IIRC). Underlying institutional information may include publicly available data and parameter-level information from recognised public sources, including information published through the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), Ministry of Education, Government of India, together with the analytical, calibration and assessment methodology adopted by IIRC. The IIRC India (University) Rankings are not issued, approved or endorsed by the Ministry of Education and should not be represented as official Government of India rankings.
About IIRC : The India Institutional Ranking Consortium (IIRC) is an independent higher education ranking, benchmarking and institutional assessment initiative committed to advancing a more nuanced understanding of institutional performance across India. Through Ranking Intelligence, Recognition Architecture and Reputation Equity, IIRC brings together multidimensional assessment, comparative benchmarking and structured recognition to illuminate institutional strengths, performance maturity and areas of emerging excellence.
The IIRC India Rankings evaluate higher education institutions through a structured 9D Performance Framework, integrating academic, administrative, research, digital, governance and outcome-oriented dimensions. Institutions are recognised through a combination of Rank, Performance Score, Maturity Grade and Category Band, offering a broader analytical view than ordinal ranking alone. For the complete IIRC India Rankings 2026, methodology and institutional results, visit www.indiarankings.com
Should you have any query, or for media contact write to: media@indiarankigns.com
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