The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is set to shake up India’s higher education landscape by introducing negative marking for retracted and tainted research papers —a first in its decade-long history.

The move, officials say, is aimed at stamping out research malpractice and ensuring the credibility of academic output.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan unveiled the tenth edition of the NIRF, confirming that the framework will now formally penalize institutions for misrepresentation of data and research misconduct.

“For the first time, penalties are being formally stitched into the ranking methodology to act against research malpractice,” said Anil Sahashrabudhe, chairman of the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), which manages NIRF. “Draft norms for the negative marking system are being finalized and will be declared soon.”

NIRF ranks over 8,700 institutions across five broad parameters: teaching and learning, graduation outcomes, research, outreach, and perception. With its rankings serving as a key reference point for students, recruiters, and policymakers, credibility concerns have escalated in recent years.

Several institutions have seen alarming numbers of retracted research papers, yet continued to climb the rankings.

“Unless negative marks are applied, there is little incentive to correct these lapses,” Sahashrabudhe explained. “Unlike global rankings such as QS and Times Higher Education, NIRF until now did not factor retractions into its scoring, allowing some institutes to advance despite persistent research integrity issues.”

The issue gained legal attention in April when a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Madras High Court questioned the transparency of ranking systems, highlighting that NIRF rankings were based solely on self-reported institutional data without verification.

The court initially stayed the publication of the rankings, but later lifted the order after the Centre assured that a “scientific method” overseen by expert bodies was being followed.

With the new negative marking framework, NIRF is signaling a tougher stance on research integrity — one that could fundamentally reshape institutional reputations and student trust in India’s higher education system.