IIT Madras tops rankings for 6th straight year, IISc Bengaluru best university for 9th time
NIRF 2024
New Delhi, Aug 12: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras remained on the top spot in the National Institute Ranking Framework, 2024 for the sixth consecutive year, while the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru was ranked as the best university for the ninth year in a row, according to the Ministry of Education.
Delhi University improved its rank from 11 to 6 while Hindu College stalled Miranda College's seven-year run as the best college in the ninth edition of the NIRF rankings, which was announced by Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday.
Behind IIT Madras, IISc Bengaluru took the second spot in the "overall" category, followed by IIT Bombay while IIT Delhi, which was at the third place in the category last year, slipped to the fourth position.
Eight IITs figured in the top ten besides All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
Among universities, IISc Bengaluru is followed by JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia. All three retained their positions.
Nine IITs are in the top ten list for engineering colleges with IIT Madras being at the top for the ninth consecutive year in the category. IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay also retained their second and third spot respectively in the category. National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirapalli is the only non-IIT in the top ten list.
Knowing the quality, performance and strengths of an academic institution is a right of students and parents, the education minister said after the rankings were announced.
"All the 58,000 HEIs (higher education institutions) in the country must come under the ranking and rating framework. Our ranking mechanism must also include skilling as a parameter. Intangible aspects are powerful stimulus to learning and development. We should devise mechanisms to bring intangible aspects of education in the rankings framework," Pradhan said.
"As we move forward, we recognise the need for more transparency and a progressive approach in evaluating institutions. The feedback from various institutes highlights that not all should be judged on the same factors," he added.
Among management colleges, IIM Ahmedabad retained its top spot for the fifth year in a row, followed by IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode. Two IITs -- Bombay and Delhi -- also figured in the top ten list for management courses.
In pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard rose to the top spot from its second position last year while the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad slipped to the second rank. BITS Pilani retained its third position in the category.
DU's Hindu College and Miranda House switched positions in the colleges category with the former bagging the top spot. St Stephen's College is in the third position among colleges, up from its 14th rank last year.
Similarly for law, the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru followed by the National Law University, Delhi and NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad retained their first, second and third spots, respectively.
For architecture and planning courses, IIT Roorkee was announced as the best, followed by IIT Kharagpur and NIT Calicut.
Among medical colleges, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi bagged the top position followed by PGIME, Chandigarh and CMC Vellore at second and third spot.
Among the dental colleges, Saveetha Institute of Medical And Technical Sciences, Chennai and Manipal College of Dental Sciences retained the top two positions while the third rank was bagged by Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi.
For research, IISc Bengaluru was declared the best, followed by IIT Madras and IIT Delhi at second and third spot.
For education in Agriculture and Allied Sectors, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi is at the first spot while ICAR-National
Dairy Research Institute, Haryana bagged the second rank, followed by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
For 2024, the ranking exercise maintains the practice of providing a comprehensive "overall" rank, alongside distinct rankings in categories -- Universities, Research Institutions, Degree Colleges and Innovation as well as discipline-specific rankings in Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Law, Medical, Dental, Architecture and Planning, and Agriculture and Allied Sectors.
Additionally, open universities, state public universities and skill universities have been included as new verticals in this year's rankings.
Among state public universities, Anna University in Chennai bagged the top spot, followed by Kolkata's Jadavpur University and Savitribai Phule University, Pune.
IGNOU topped the list for open universities, followed by Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata and Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad.
Among skill universities, Symbiosis Skills and Professional University, Pune was awarded the first position followed by Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, Haryana and Bhartiya Skill Development University, Rajasthan at second and third spot respectively.
The participation of HEIs in the NIRF rankings has grown from 3,565 in 2016 to 10,845 in 2024, with the number of categories and subject domains expanding from four in 2016 to sixteen in 2024.
The NIRF provides for ranking of institutions in five broad generic groups of parameters - Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP); Graduation Outcome (GO); Outreach and Inclusivity (O&I) and Perception (PR).
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
