Top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ranking is all about those institutions that are considered as best to study various engineering courses. The NIRF ratings for 2021 were released recently.

The NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) is a process used by Union Ministry of Education of Government of India to rank higher education institutions of India. NIRF 2021 was conducted taking into account five different concepts. They are Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity and Perception (PR).

These top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ranking give out the best in teaching. One can never deny the fact that studying engineering will open the gates for great career with handsome pay prospects.

If one is fortunate to study in these top 20 engineering colleges, the career prospects would turn more bright.

The intension behind providing information on top 20 engineering colleges is to help students make better choices when it comes to studying engineering.

The list of the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ranking in India are given below for the sake of students:

1. IIT Madras
This institution has been ranking on the top for third time. The NIRF ranking for 2021 for IIT Madras is no1 and it strongly believes that talent and good ideas can come from anywhere and has a remarkably diverse community, drawing students from across all Indian states and from various countries.

Intensely curious and driven to explore, the student community of IIT Madras value rigorous analytical thinking, ingenuity, hands-on problem solving, and big new ideas.

The departments and centres of the Institute are responsible for the academic activities which include Teaching, Research and Industrial Consultancy.

The courses of study are organized as semester programs and each semester provides for a minimum of seventy instructional days. The medium of instruction is English.

Students are evaluated on a continuous basis throughout the semester. Evaluation is done by the faculty, a consequence of the autonomous status granted to the Institute.

This is one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF rating for 2021. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iitm.ac.in/’

2. IIT Delhi
The national capital of India has no dearth of high worth institutions for technical education. IIT Delhi is one of the organisations that needs no introduction owing to its high quality services.

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is one of the 23 IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technology in India.

Established as College of Engineering in 1961, the Institute was later declared as an Institution of National Importance under the “Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 1963” and was renamed as “Indian Institute of Technology Delhi”. It was then accorded the status of a Deemed University with powers to decide its own academic policy, to conduct its own examinations, and to award its own degrees.

The students of this great institute have proved their mettle across the globe. These alumni today work as scientists, technologists, business managers and entrepreneurs.

There are several alumni who have moved away from their original disciplines and have taken to administrative services, active politics or are with NGOs. The NIRF ranking 2021 for this is no.2.

In doing so, they have contributed significantly to building of this nation, and to industrialization around the world. This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF ranking for this year. The website to know more is ‘https://home.iitd.ac.in/index.php’

3. IIT Bombay
Established in 1958, the second of its kind, IIT Bombay was the first to be set up with foreign assistance. The funds from UNESCO came as Roubles from the then Soviet Union.

In 1961 Parliament decreed the IITs as ‘Institutes of National Importance’. Since then, IIT Bombay has grown from strength to strength to emerge as one of the top technical universities in the world.

The institute is recognised worldwide as a leader in the field of engineering education and research. Reputed for the outstanding caliber of students graduating from its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, the institute attracts the best students from the country for its bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes.

Research and academic programmes at IIT Bombay are driven by an outstanding faculty, many of whom are reputed for their research contributions internationally.

This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per 2021 NIRF ranking. NIRF 2021 rating gave IIT Bombay no.3 rank. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iitb.ac.in/en’

4. IIT Kanpur
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur was established in 1959 and is one of the premier institutions established by the Government of India. The aim of the institute is to provide meaningful education, to conduct original research of the highest standard and to provide leadership in technological innovation.

This organisation has a vision to create, disseminate and translate knowledge in science, engineering and allied disciplines that will best serve the society.

The institution is spread over an area of 1055 acres and has 108 buildings on its premises. The NIRF 2021 ranking for IIT Kanpur is no.4. This is also one of the top 10 engineering colleges as per 2021 NIRF rating. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iitk.ac.in/’

5. IIT Kharagpur
The talk about technical education scenario of India will not be complete without the mention of IIT Kharagpur. The institution has turned into a centre of excellence as far as technical education is concerned.

The Institute aligns all its activities to serve national interest and seeks to provide broad-based education, helping students hone their professional skills and acquire the best-in-class capabilities in their respective disciplines.

Institution aspires to be a centre of excellence in education and research, producing global leaders in science, technology and management and to be a hub of knowledge creation that prioritises the frontier areas of national and global importance.

NIRF 2021 ranking for IIT Kharagpur is no.5. This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per this year’s NIRF rating. The website to know more is ‘http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/’

6. IIT Roorkee
This is among those institutions that has reached great heights in the field of higher education. Excellence has become a norm here long ago.

The vision of this institution is to attain global level of excellence in education and to create a sustainable and equitable society through innovative research in science and technology.

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It aspires to create an environment that shall foster the growth of intellectually capable, innovative and entrepreneurial professionals, who shall contribute to the growth of Science and Technology in partnership with industry and develop and harness it for the welfare of the nation and mankind.

The NIRF rating for this institution for this year is no.6. This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF rating. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iitr.ac.in/Main/pages/_en_Indian_Institute_of_Technology_Roorkee__en_.html’

7. IIT Guwahati
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, the sixth member of the IIT fraternity, was established in 1994. The academic programme of IIT Guwahati commenced in 1995.

At present the Institute has eleven departments and five inter-disciplinary academic centres covering all the major engineering, science and humanities disciplines, offering BTech, BDes, MA, MDes, MTech, MSc and PhD programmes.

Within a short period of time, IIT Guwahati has been able to build up world class infrastructure for carrying out advanced research and has been equipped with state-of-the-art scientific and engineering instruments.

IIT Guwahati’s campus is on a sprawling 285 hectares plot of land on the north bank of the river Brahmaputra around 20 kms. from the heart of the city. With the majestic Brahmaputra on one side, and with hills and vast open spaces on others, the campus provides an ideal setting for learning.

NIRF ranking 2021 gave this institution no.7 rank. This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ranking. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iitg.ac.in/’

8. IIT Hyderabad
Southern part of India is home to many high worth institutions and IIT Hyderabad is one among them. IIT Hyderabad is one among the second generation of IITs started by the Government of India.

Today IIT Hyderabad offers 11 B.Tech programs, 1 B.Des Program, 3 M.Sc programs, 18 M.Tech programs, 1 M.Des program, 1 MA Program and 15 Ph.D. programs in all branches of engineering, science, liberal arts and design.

IIT Hyderabad offers 2 years M.Tech Program to the foreign Nationals in 9 different departments. The very foundation of IIT Hyderabad is based on research and innovation.

The vibrant research culture is evident from the number of patents and publications that IITH has. At IITH students are given with a plethora of choices, which they diligently choose with the help of a faculty advisor.

This is also one of the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 rating. The NIRF 2021 rating gave this institution a rank of no.8. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iith.ac.in/’

9. National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli
National Institute of Technology Trichy is one of the 31 National Institutes of Technology established by the Government of India. Today, NIT Trichy is an autonomous co-educational technological institute, with 10 undergraduate and 28 graduate programs.

Undergraduate programs lead to the B.Tech degrees, while the graduate students and postgraduate students earn M.Tech, M.S. (by Research) and Ph.D degrees respectively.

NIT Trichy also has a management and architecture school. It is located in Thuvakudi on the Trichy-Tanjore national highway, 17 km from Trichy Railway Junction.

The National Institute of Technology (formerly known as Regional Engineering College) Tiruchirappalli, situated in the heart of Tamil Nadu on the banks of river Cauvery, was started as a joint and co-operative venture of the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1964 with a view to catering to the needs of man-power in technology for the country.

The college has been conferred with autonomy in financial and administrative matters to achieve rapid development. Because of this rich experience, this institution was granted Deemed University Status with the approval of the UGC/AICTE and Government of India in the year 2003 and renamed as National Institute of Technology. NIT-T was registered under Societies Registration Act XXVII of 1975.

This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ranking. NIRF 2021 ranking gave this institution rank no.9. The website to know more is ‘https://www.nitt.edu/’

10. National Institute of Technology Karnataka
National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal is located in Mangalore City, Karnataka.

The Institute was established as Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC) in 1960, and upgraded as National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) in 2002.

Mangalore is the headquarters of the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, and boasts an important centre of education, business and trade in the state.

U. Srinivasa Mallya, a visionary and a philanthropist, contributed immensely to the development of the coastal region of Karnataka, and his effort towards establishment of KREC (now NITK) is the most significant one.

In recognition of his role as the founder and architect of the institute, the campus premises is named after him as Srinivasnagar. The NIRF rating 2021 allotted this institution a rank of no.10.

This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF rating for 2021. The website to know more is ‘https://www.nitk.ac.in/’

11. IIT Indian School of Mines (IIT ISM)
This is also among the institutions that doesn’t require any introduction. The popularity of this organisation has spread to all corners of the country.

The achievements of IIT ISM have brought all the glory upon it. The institute is steadily sailing through the millennium change and has emerged into one of the most prominent institution- Indian Institute of Technology IIT(ISM) with full bloom functioning of 18 branches of Engineering, Applied Sciences, Management Studies and Humanities.

IIT (ISM) has had a centenary long credentials of outperforming achievements in academia and the industry. The faculty here is highly experienced and the atmosphere is very ideal for studies.

No wonder, this is also among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ratings. The rating as per NIRF this year for IIT ISM is no.11. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iitism.ac.in/’

12. Vellore Institute of Technology
This institution is said to be one of the jewels in the crown of higher education of this country. Students from all corners of India come to his organisation to learn various courses.

The fame of this institution has crossed the boundaries of India long ago. The institution is a known name in the field of engineering education, however, it is also well-known for offering courses related to various other streams.

The institution is also known for encouraging deserving students with scholarships and other forms of support. VIT was established with the aim of providing quality higher education on par with international standards.

It persistently seeks and adopts innovative methods to improve the quality of higher education on a consistent basis. The NIRF ranking for this institution for 2021 is no.12.

This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per 2021 NIRF ratings. The website to know more is ‘https://vit.ac.in/’

13. IIT Indore
The institution located in Madhya Pradesh is also known as IITI, is an institute of national importance established by the Government of India in 2009.

It is one of the eight new IITs, started by the Ministry of Human Resource Development of Government of India. The institution started functioning from 2009-10 in a temporary campus at Institute of Engineering and Technology of Devi Ahilyabai University under mentorship of IIT Bombay.

Arjun Singh, the then Union HRD Minister laid the foundation of the permanent campus, spread over an area of around 501.42-acre (2.1 km2), on 17 February 2009 at Simrol, a location on Khandwa Road about 25 km from the city of Indore.

The institution began working on its permanent campus from February 2016 onwards. The campus houses The School of Basic Sciences, The School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The School of Engineering, Basic Science Labs and Engineering Labs are all established in this campus.

The NIRF rating 2021 for IIT Indore has given a rank no.13. This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 rating. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iiti.ac.in/’

14. IIT (Banaras Hindu University) Varnasi
The popularity of this institution speaks for itself as the achievements of this organisation are praiseworthy. The institution began its innings in 1919.

This was founded in 1919 as the Banaras Engineering College, it became the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University in 1968.

It was designated an Indian Institute of Technology in 2012. IIT (BHU) Varanasi has 16 departments, 3 inter-disciplinary schools and 1 Humanities and Social Sciences Section.

It is located inside the Banaras Hindu University Campus. Architecture, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Mining Engineering are among the departments in this institution.

It is not only engineering that the institution is known for, but also courses related to arts and humanities are offered here. The NIRF rating for 2021 gave this institution no.14.

This is also one of the top 20 engineering colleges as per 2021 NIRF ratings. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iitbhu.ac.in/’

15. Institute of Chemical Technology
The institution was established on October 1 1933 as University Department of Chemical Technology of the University of Bombay which is now Mumbai, with the noble intention of advancing India’s knowledge reserves in chemical science and technology.

The institute has grown to become a premier (deemed) university devoted to education, training, research and industrial collaboration in chemical engineering, chemical technology, applied chemistry, pharmacy, biotechnology and bio-processing.

The then UDCT grew in stature over the years and was granted partial autonomy by the University of Mumbai in 1985, which was taken to the next echelon under the concept of autonomy propagated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Taking into it the great performance the institution has shown over the years, Government of Maharashtra granted it the Elite Status and Centre of Excellence in the State Assembly on April 20, 2012.

This is a singular distinction accorded to any institute in the entire country and speaks volumes about the achievements of the ICT. The NIRF ranking for 2021 gave this institution no.15 rank.

This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ratings. The website to know more is ‘https://www.ictmumbai.edu.in/’

16. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
This is one of the high ranking institutions active in higher education arena of our country. The achievements of the organisation have glorified itself and this nation also.

Though the organisation is a known name in the field of engineering education, the institution offers courses in dentistry, medicine, nursing pharmacy and others.

The unit that offers engineering courses is Amrita School of Engineering. It was started in 1994 in Coimbatore. In 2002, two additional Schools of Engineering were established in Amritapuri and Bengaluru.

All three Schools offer B.Tech., M.Tech. and Ph.D. programs in a large number of disciplines. Outstanding students aspiring for careers in engineering, from across the country and abroad are enrolled in the three Schools.

This is also one of the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF rating of 2021. The rank as per the same rating for 2021 is no.16. The website to know more is ‘https://www.amrita.edu/school/engineering’

17. Jadavpur University
The university is also among the most popular hubs for higher learning in India. It is among those institutions that attract students in large numbers every year.

The high quality education and well-qualified faculty and ideal learning atmosphere have all made this institution famous across the country.

Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Power Engineering are among the courses offered here at this university.

The courses of engineering are offered by various departments that come under Faculty Council of Engineering and Technology.

The vision of the engineering wing of the university is to provide young minds an ambience and quality education in engineering and technology to contribute towards a better world.

The NIRF rating for 2021 gave this university rank no.17. This is also among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF rating 2021. The website to know more is ‘http://www.jaduniv.edu.in/’

18. Anna University
Anna University was established on 4 September, 1978 as a unitary type of University. This University was named after Late Dr. C.N. Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. It offers higher education in Engineering, Technology, Architecture and Applied Sciences relevant to the current and projected needs of the society.

Besides promoting research and disseminating knowledge gained therefrom, it fosters cooperation between the academic and industrial communities.

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The university was formed by bringing together four well-known institutions namely College of Engineering (CEG), Alagappa College of Technology (ACT), Madras Institute of Technology and School of Architecture & Planning.

The objective of the university is to constantly raise the quality of engineering education thereby to produce superior human resource to match rapid technological developments.

The NIRF rating 2021 gave this institution rank no.18. This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 rating. The website to know more is ‘https://www.annauniv.edu/index.php’

19. IIT Ropar
Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar is one of the eight new IITs set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) of Government of India, to expand the reach and enhance the quality of technical education in the country.

This institute is committed to providing state-of-the-art technical education in a variety of fields and also for facilitating transmission of knowledge in keeping with latest developments in pedagogy.

The institute offers BTech in Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

Institute also offers MTech in CBME, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Postgraduate courses (MSc) are offered in Physics, Chemistry and Maths.

The NIRF rating 2021 gave this institution rank no.19. This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF ranking for 2021. The website to know more is ‘https://www.iitrpr.ac.in/’

20. NIT Rourkela
The vision of this institution is to become an internationally acclaimed institution of higher learning that will serve as a source of knowledge and expertise for the society and be a preferred destination for undergraduate and graduate studies.

The institution aspires to advance and spread knowledge in the area of science and technology leading to creation of wealth and welfare of humanity.

The departments in the campus of NIT Rourkela are Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Ceramic Engineering and others.

The institution also offers courses related to humanities and social sciences too. This is also one among the top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ranking. NIRF 2021 rating gave this institution rank no.20. The website to know more is ‘https://www.nitrkl.ac.in/’

Conclusion (Top 20 engineering colleges as per NIRF 2021 ranking)

Top 20 engineering colleges is not about simply studying engineering. But it is also about working hard to gain entry into them.

Students have to remember that gaining a seat in these top 20 engineering colleges in India may not be an easy task.

Getting a seat in these top 20 engineering colleges may require students to write tough written tests and get a good score. The students may have to pass tests like JEE Mains and get a score. Admission in IITs would require students to first pass JEE Mains and get a rank within top 2.5 lakhs to apply for JEE Advanced.

Post passing JEE Advanced with the required score, individuals can move to the next phase of admission process in connection with IITs.

Candidates targeting a seat in these top 20 engineering colleges in India must be prepared to pass the written test and go through the next phases of admission. Initial written test may be tough in certain cases.

Post a pass in the written test with good score, candidates get to take part in the counselling where they get to choose their preferred course.

Engineering study aspirants have to remember that working hard to get a seat in these top 20 engineering colleges in India is worth it.

For study in these top 20 engineering colleges in India will brighten life by opening the gate for greener pastures.

S. Vishnu Sharma

S Vishnu Sharmaa now works with collegechalo.com in the news team. His work involves writing articles related to the education... (Full bio)