The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025 rankings revealed a mixed performance for Himachal Pradesh’s educational institutions, with IIT Mandi making significant strides while major state universities remained absent from top rankings across multiple categories.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the NIRF Rankings 2025 on Thursday, covering 17 different categories including overall, university, college, research institution, engineering, and others. The rankings help students identify the country’s best colleges for their academic pursuits.
Top performers from Himachal Pradesh
IIT Mandi emerged as the state’s flagship performer, jumping 14 positions from 72nd to 58th rank in the overall category. The institute also improved its engineering ranking from 31st to 26th position and 10th in Innovation category, demonstrating consistent academic excellence.
Shoolini University, Solan maintained its presence in multiple categories, though with mixed results. The private university secured 69th position in the university category (up from 70th last year) but dropped out of the overall top 100 rankings where it was placed 89th in 2024.
NIT Hamirpur made a remarkable comeback, returning to the top 100 engineering institutions at 97th position after being absent from the category last year. The institute also secured 30th rank in Architecture and Planning (improved from 32nd).
Complete ranking breakdown
| Category | Institution | 2024 Rank | 2025 Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Top 100 | IIT Mandi | 72 | 58 | ↑ 14 |
| Shoolini University | 89 | Not ranked | ↓ Out | |
| University Top 100 | Shoolini University | 70 | 69 | ↑ 1 |
| Engineering Top 100 | IIT Mandi | 31 | 26 | ↑ 5 |
| NIT Hamirpur | Not ranked | 97 | ↑ New entry | |
| Shoolini University | 92 | Not ranked | ↓ Out | |
| Innovation Top 10 | IIT Mandi | – | 10 | Maintained |
| Management Top 100 | IIM Sirmaur | 57 | 51 | ↑ 6 |
| Pharmacy Top 100 | Shoolini University | 30 | 44 | ↓ 14 |
| Architecture & Planning Top 40 | NIT Hamirpur | 32 | 30 | ↑ 2 |
| Law Top 40 | National Law University | Not ranked | 34 | New entry |
| Agriculture & Allied Top 40 | Dr. YS Parmar University (Nauni) | 18 | 20 | ↓ 2 |
| CSK HP Agricultural University (Palampur) | 19 | 29 | ↓ 10 |
Notable absences and concerns
The rankings highlighted significant gaps in Himachal Pradesh’s higher education landscape. Himachal Pradesh University Shimla and Sardar Patel University Mandi, both major state universities, failed to secure positions in any top 100 category, raising questions about the quality of public sector education.
The state received no representation in several critical categories including:
- Top 50 Public Universities
- Top 100 Colleges
- Top 50 Research Institutions
- Top 50 Medical Colleges
- Top 40 Dental Colleges
- Top 10 Sustainable Development Goals category
This is particularly concerning given that Himachal Pradesh has six medical colleges, two medical universities, and five dental colleges, yet none managed to secure national rankings.
Implications for state’s education sector
The 10th edition of NIRF rankings, based on evaluations from 14,163 participating institutions, reveals that while private institutions like Shoolini University and premier central institutions like IIT Mandi are maintaining competitive standards, the state’s public university and other private universities require significant attention.
The absence of Himachal Pradesh University, the state’s oldest university, from top 100 rankings across all categories underscores the urgent need for quality improvements in state-run higher education institutions. This performance gap between central institutions and state universities suggests systemic issues that need addressing to enhance the overall educational ecosystem in the hill state.
