- Sep 09, 2025
- 4 min read
IIM Ahmedabad Remains Best Business School In India: NIRF Ranking 2025
The prestigious Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad retains the title of India's best business school in the newly published NIRF Ranking 2025, outperforming other leading IIMs
The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad consistently ranks as India's best business school in the annually published NIRF Ranking ©siraanamwong/iStock
The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad remains India's leading management school, according to the much-anticipated 2025 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF Ranking) of management institutes in India.
The top three schools in this year's list remain unchanged since the 2024 NIRF Ranking. Retaining second place is IIM Bangalore, while IIM Kozhikode also secures third position. These institutes have consistently demonstrated their excellence in management education, evidenced by their having also occupied the same positions in 2023.
Each year, the NIRF Ranking lists the top state colleges in India to study an MBA degree, with the upper positions in the list typically dominated by India's prestigious IIMs, as well as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
NIRF Ranking 2025: Minor shifts in top 10
There are few shifts within the top 10 positions of the NIRF Ranking 2025 when compared with last year.
All but one of the top five schools occupy identical positions to 2024, with IIM Calcutta—ranked fifth previously—the only outlier after swapping places with IIM Lucknow, which formerly ranked seventh. This marks the second year consecutive year that IIM Calcutta has dropped in the ranking, after it placed as high as fourth in 2023.
IIT Delhi rose from fifth to fourth in the ranking's management category in 2024, and retains the position this year.
Outside the top five in this year's NIRF Ranking, changes are more significant.
IIM Mumbai remains in sixth place, as does IM Indore which retains eighth, behind IIM Calcutta. However, there are two new entrants occupying the remaining positions in the top 10. Management Development Institute supplants Xavier School of Management (XLRI) Jamshedpur, taking ninth place. Meanwhile, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management takes the 10th spot previously occupied by IIT Bombay. Last year saw the two schools placed 11th and 13th, respectively.
NIRF Ranking 2025: Big names in top 20
Looking beyond the top 10 in this year's NIRF Ranking, there are several big name Indian business schools, along with a number of schools that achieved significant results.
The 2025 NIRF Ranking sees Symbiosis Institute of Business Management ranked as India's 11th best management institute, up two places since 2024. In 12th, IIT Kharagpur misses out on the top 10 after rising from 19th place in the 2024 NIRF Ranking. IIT Madras also notably increases its position in this year’s list, rising from 16th to 13th.
Falling out of the top 10, IIT Bombay drops to 14th place. Meanwhile IIM Raipur occupies 15th position, failing to climb back up the ranking after placing 11th in 2023.
A new entry into the top 20 management institutes in India is Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli. The IIM, which was established in 2011, places 16th.
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, a school based in New Delhi, drops two positions to place 17th. It’s followed by IIM Ranchi, which ranks in 18th position, down one spot since the previous year.
IIM Rohtak, which placed 12th overall in the 2024 NIRF Ranking, drops seven places to 19th in 2025. It's followed by SP Jain Institute of Management and Research in 20th, retaining the same position since last year and rounding out the top 20 management institutes in India
Top 20 business schools in India: NIRF Ranking 2025
Here's the list of the top 20 management colleges in India, as per the NIRF Ranking 2025:
NIRF Ranking 2025: Methodology
The NIRF Ranking methodology takes into account various parameters, including teaching, learning and resources, research and professional practices, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity, and peer perception.
These criteria help assess the overall performance and quality of management institutes in India.
Matt Kefford is Deputy Editor for GMAC.com, responsible for writing, editing, and producing multimedia content as well as driving content strategy for the website. A business education journalist for 5+ years, he regularly features as a judge on education industry awards and speaks at industry events.
Previously, Matt has written and produced content for national news organizations including The Sunday Times, i News, and Sky News, as well as a number of regional titles. Matt has a B.A. in History from the University of Leeds and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Sheffield. He is also a gold standard accredited journalist with the National Council for the Training of Journalists.