PhD faculties in India reach 60%, research publications triple: KPMG study
The study also found that median salaries of graduating students across institutions nearly doubled over five years, reflecting stronger employability and greater employer confidence
New Delhi: India’s higher education institutions have shown “outcome-led systemic improvements” over the past decade, driven by faculty upskilling and research expansion, according to a KPMG study based on the analysis of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings in various categories. The percentage of PhD qualified faculty members is reaching nearly 60% in the overall category in 2025 for the top 100 ranked institutions with management institutes reporting over 90% and engineering colleges over 80%, the study found.
“Top-ranked institutions now report over 73% PhD faculty across most categories,” it said.
Launched by the Union education ministry in 2015, NIRF rankings are based on evaluating performance of institutions in various categories across five core parameters: Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR); Research and Professional Practice (RP); Graduation Outcomes (GO); Outreach and Inclusivity (OI); and Perception (PR). The tenth edition of NIRF rankings was released on September 4, 2025.
According to KPMG analysis, the doctoral education ecosystem has expanded as the PhD enrolments in the university category have grown by 21% in 6 years from 97,947 in 2019 to 118,556 in 2025, while PhD completions surged by nearly 49% from 16,403 to 24, 481 in the same period —indicating improved research supervision, infrastructure, and output. Universities ranked 76 to 100 in NIRF rankings 2025 showed the fastest growth in enrolments, while top-ranked institutions led in completions.
These academic gains are mirrored in research output too. According to the analysis, between 2018 and 2025, publication volumes surged—by 150% in universities and engineering, and 300% in pharmacy and management—while India’s share in global research publications rose from 3.5% to 5.2%. Meanwhile the top-ranked institutions in overall and engineering categories are “consistently able to convert published patents into granted ones,” and the top 25 universities now receive nine times more sponsored research funding than those ranked between 76 and 100, underscoring a growing culture of innovation and industry collaboration.
In the foreword of the report, Narayanan Ramaswamy, national leader - education and skill development, KPMG in India said, “Educational institutions have played a key role, tripling their [patent] filings from 2022 to 2024. This momentum, supported by government incentives and NIRF’s research emphasis, has positioned India among the top six countries globally for patent activity.”
These gains in the research atmosphere in educational institutions are reflected in global rankings. In the QS World University Rankings 2026, India is the fourth most represented country, with 54 institutions -up five-fold from 2015.
Anil Kumar Nassa, member secretary of the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), said that the NIRF rankings have significantly boosted India’s global standing, with more institutions now featuring in the Times Higher Education and QS rankings. “This is the impact of NIRF, as institutes are focusing on improving research, perception, and teaching-learning quality,” he said.
The NBA oversees the NIRF rankings in 17 categories. The participation in NIRF has risen sharply — from 2,426 institutions in 2016 to 7,692 in 2025– 217% increase with the college category witnessing the biggest jump from 803 to 4,030 participants – 401% increase in the same period.
To enhance the NIRF framework’s effectiveness, KPMG has recommended focusing on research quality (citations, societal relevance) rather than quantity.
Nassa emphasised NIRF’s transparency, noting that all institutional data are publicly available for review. “We invite public feedback on submitted data and even after rankings are announced, all data remains accessible on our website since the inception of NIRF rankings,” he said, adding that negative marking has been introduced for violations of research ethics.
In its NIRF 2025 – Category-Specific analysis, KPMG notes that public institutions continue to dominate top ranks, with IISc Bengaluru, JNU, and IIT Madras retaining leadership positions, while private universities such as Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and BITS Pilani are emerging as strong contenders. Delhi-based colleges like Hindu College, Miranda House, and Hansraj College continue to lead in the college category, as Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Kerala account for 83% of the top 100 colleges. Medical and management rankings also show greater diversity, with AIIMS Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad maintaining top spots. The report highlights rising competitiveness—“even a small score improvement can result in a 40-rank jump”—with nearly all categories improving their average scores from 2024. It concludes that “data-driven, sustained performance” is now key to institutional advancement.
“Ten years of NIRF data as analysed by KPMG now offers a rare longitudinal view of how Indian higher educational institutions are performing. Keeping aside the integrity issues, this is indeed a positive trend for higher education. The next ten years can be transformative, if the government is willing to make some bold reforms in higher education,” said BITS Pilani vice chancellor V. Ramgopal Rao in a post on X.
The study also found that “median salaries of graduating students across institutions nearly doubled over five years,” reflecting stronger employability and “greater employer confidence.” The rise is driven by improved skill alignment, internships, and industry collaborations, especially in management, engineering, and medical fields, the study said
