29 Top Government Universities in India

Banaras Hindu University ( BHU), formerly Central Hindu College, is a public central university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It was established jointly in 1916 by the Maharaja of Darbhanga Rameshwar Singh, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Sunder Lal and British Theosophist and Home Rule League founder Annie Besant. With over 30,000 students residing in campus, it is the largest residential university in Asia. The university’s main campus spread over 1,300 acres (5.3 km2) was built on land donated by the Kashi Naresh Prabhu Narayan Singh, the hereditary ruler of Banaras (“Kashi” being an alternative name for Banaras or Varanasi). The south campus, spread over 2,700 acres (11 km2), hosts the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Agriculture Science Centre) and is located in Barkachha in Mirzapur district, about 60 km (37 mi) from Banaras. BHU is organised into six institutes and 14 faculties (streams) and about 140 departments. As of 2017, the total student enrolment at the university is 27,359 coming from 48 countries. It has over 75 hostels for resident students. Several of its faculties and institutes include arts (FA – BHU), commerce (Faculty of Commerce, Banaras Hindu University), management studies (Institute of Management Studies Banaras Hindu University|I.M.St. – BHU), science (I.Sc. – BHU), performing arts (FPA-BHU), law (FL-BHU), agricultural science (Institute of Agricultural Science, Banaras Hindu University|I.A.S. – BHU), medical science (Institute of Medical Science, Banaras Hindu University|I.M.S. – BHU) and environment and sustainable development (Institute of Environment And Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University|I.E.S.D. – BHU) along with departments of linguistics, journalism & mass communication, among others. The university’s engineering institute was designated as an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT BHU) in June 2012.
BHU celebrated its centenary year in 2015–2016. The Centenary Year Celebration Cell organised various programs including cultural programs, feasts, competitions and Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya Birth Anniversary on 25 December 2015.

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The University of Delhi, informally known as Delhi University (DU), is a collegiate public central university, located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly. As a collegiate university, its main functions are divided between the academic departments of the university and affiliated colleges. Consisting of three colleges, two faculties, and 750 students at its founding, the University of Delhi has since become India’s largest institution of higher learning and among the largest in the world. The university has 16 faculties and 86 departments distributed across its North and South campuses. It has 77 affiliated colleges and fove other institutes. The Vice-President of India serves as the University’s chancellor.

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Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a premier central university in Aligarh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920, following the Aligarh Muslim University Act. It has three off-campus centres in Malappuram (Kerala), AMU Murshidabad centre (West Bengal), and Kishanganj Centre (Bihar).
The university offers more than 300 courses in traditional and modern branches of education, and is an institute of national importance, under the declared under seventh schedule of the Constitution of India at its commencement .
The university has been ranked 801–1000 in the QS World University Rankings of 2018, and 18 in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2017. Various clubs and societies function under the aegis of the university and it has various notable academicians, literary figures, politicians, jurists, lawyers, sportsperson, among others as its alumni.

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The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University or CU, is a collegiate public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 24 January 1857 and was one of the first multidisciplinary and Western-style institutions in Asia. Today, the university’s jurisdiction is limited to a few districts of West Bengal. Within India, it is recognized as a “Five-Star University” and accredited an “A” grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. The University of Calcutta was awarded the status of “Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area” and “University with potential for excellence” by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
The university has a total of fourteen campuses spread over the city of Kolkata and its suburbs. As of 2020, 151 colleges and 21 institutes and centres are affiliated with it. The university was seventh in the Indian University Ranking 2020 list, released by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India.
Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state and government, social reformers, prominent artists, the only Indian Academy award winner and Dirac medal winner, many Fellows of the Royal Society and five Nobel laureates—the highest number in South Asia—as of 2019. The five Nobel laureates associated with this university are: Ronald Ross, Rabindranath Tagore, C. V. Raman, Amartya Sen and Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee. The university has the highest number of students who have cleared the National Eligibility Test. The University of Calcutta is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact.

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Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public central university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and research emphasis on liberal arts and applied sciences.

Jawaharlal Nehru University was established in 1969 by an act of parliament. It was named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. G. Parthsarthi was the first vice-chancellor. Prof. Moonis Raza was the Founder Chairman and Rector. The bill for the establishment of Jawaharlal Nehru University was placed in the Rajya Sabha on 1 September 1965 by the then-Minister of Education, M. C. Chagla. During the discussion that followed, Bhushan Gupta, member of parliament, voiced the opinion that this should not be yet another university. New faculties should be created, including scientific socialism, and one thing that this university should ensure was to keep noble ideas in mind and provide accessibility to students from weaker sections of society. The JNU Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on 16 November 1966 and the JNU Act came into force on 22 April 1969.

JNU was ranked 3rd among all universities in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework, Government of India, in 2016 and 2nd in 2017. JNU also received the Best University Award from the President of India in 2017. JNU is ranked #8th overall in the National Institutional Ranking Framework ranking of 2020 and 2nd among universities.

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The University of Mumbai, informally known as Mumbai University (MU) is a collegiate public state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It offers bachelors, masters and Doctoral courses, as well as diplomas and certificates in many disciplines like the Arts, Commerce, Science, Medical and Engineering. The language of instruction for most courses is English.
The University of Mumbai was established in 1857. The university has two campuses across Mumbai (Kalina Campus and Fort Campus) and two in the MMR region, one of them being Thane Sub Campus and the other being Kalyan Sub Campus. The Fort campus carries out administrative work only. Several institutes in Mumbai previously affiliated to the university are now autonomous institutes or universities.
The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. The university in 2013 had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed head of Mumbai University’s advisory council.

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The University of Hyderabad is a public research university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Founded in 1974, this mostly residential campus has more than 5,000 students and 400 faculty, from several disciplines. The governor of the state of Telangana is ex-officio the chief rector of the university, while the President of India is the visitor to the university.
The university was established along the lines of the Six-Point Formula of 1973. The first vice-chancellor of the university was Banaras Hindu University organic chemist Gurbaksh Singh, from 1974 to 1979. Shri B D Jatti was the first chancellor of the university.
In January 2015, the University of Hyderabad received the Visitor’s Award for the Best Central University in India, awarded by the President of India.The university is located in Gachibowli, on 2300-odd acres. The campus is rich in flora and fauna, home to over 734 flower plants, ten species of mammals, fifteen species of reptiles, and 220 species of birds.The university is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) by the University Grants Commission (UGC) through the UGC (Declaration of Government Institutions as Institutions of Eminence) Guidelines, 2017 for public institutions

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Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in University town, Hyderabad, India, and founded in 1918. It was established by and named after Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad. It is the third oldest university in southern India, and the first to be established in the erstwhile Kingdom of Hyderabad. It is the first Indian university to have Urdu as a medium of instruction. As of 2012, the university hosts 3,700 international students from more than 80 nations. The O.U. is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 300,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. The Osmania Medical College; was once a part of the O.U. System. However, it is now under the supervision of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences.

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Jamia Millia Islamia is a Central University located in Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in 1935. It was given the deemed status by University Grants Commission in 1962. On 26 December 1988, it became a central university.
Najma Heptulla was appointed as the 11th Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia on 26 May 2017 and Najma Akhtar was appointed as the 15th Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia in April 2019.In 2020, Jamia Millia Islamia was ranked No.1 among all central universities in the country in rankings released by Ministry of Education.

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Pondicherry University (पांडिचेरी विश्वविद्यालय) also known as PU is one of the most renowned central university of South India located in Kalapet, Pondicherry, Union Territory of Puducherry, India. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985 by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The Vice President of India is the Chancellor along with the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry acting as the Chief Rector and the President of India is the Visitor of the University. The university is a collegiate university with jurisdiction spread over the Union Territory of Puducherry located in Tamil Nadu (Pondicherry and Karaikal), Kerela (Mahé) and Andhra Pradesh (Yanam), Union Territory of Lakshadweep and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The vast jurisdiction over three Union Territories namely gives the University a national character. The residents speak diverse languages such as Hindi, Bengali,Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, English and French.
The University has been accredited ‘A’ grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council. PU is known for its brilliant infrastructure and top minds in the country. It is among the top ranked central universities in the entire country. The departments and its courses are one of the best compared to all the Central Universities in all over India. The corporate life of the University is further enriched by the inputs from visiting teachers. The University, as it is committed to the furtherance of the students knowledge, organizes several Endowment lectures and Foundation lectures by eminent personalities. These lectures provide the students and teachers alike with an updated and deep insight into many areas of study and go a long way in motivating them to excel in their chosen fields. All the departments have one of the elite level faculties from the entire nation imparting quality education. PU was India’s first University to set up a community college to serve the needs and demands of the local community. Local skill sets are advanced through several vocational programmes such as para- medical courses using the on-site hospital facilities.

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Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by University Grants Commission (UGC). Bangalore University is accredited by the NAAC with grade A in 2016 under the new grading system.Bangalore University was trifurcated into Bengaluru City University and Bengaluru North University

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The Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) is a public law school and a National Law University established under the Gujarat National Law University Act, 2003 in the state of Gujarat. The university is located at Gandhinagar, which is the capital of Gujarat and is located 23 kilometers north of the city of Ahmedabad. The statute provides for the Chief Justice of India or a Senior Supreme Court Judge to serve as the Visitor of the university.

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The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are a group of autonomous government public medical colleges of higher education. These institutes have been declared by an Act of Parliament as Institutes of National Importance. AIIMS New Delhi, the fore-runner institute, was established in 1956. Since then, 22 more institutes were announced. As of January 2020, fifteen institutes are operating and eight more are expected to become operational until 2025. Proposals were made for six more AIIMS.

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Tezpur University is a Central University located in Tezpur in the North Eastern state of Assam, India, established by an act of Parliament, in 1994. The establishment of Tezpur University is considered to be one of the outcomes of the Assam Accord, along with the establishment of Assam University and Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.

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Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU or IP or IPU), formerly Indraprastha University, is a state university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1998 as a teaching-cum-affiliating university.

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Maharshi Dayanand University (M.D. University) is a university in Rohtak, Haryana, India. Established in 1976 and named after the saint Dayananda Saraswati, the university offers courses in a number of fields of study at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels. Besides offering courses on campus & Distance mode, it is a collegiate university which provides programs through colleges, institutes and centers throughout the region.

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Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), formerly the University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT), is a public deemed university specialized in chemical technology located in Mumbai, India. The institute also has campuses at Bhubaneswar, Odisha and Jalna, Marathwada It is focused on training and research in fields of chemical engineering, chemical technology, and pharmacy. It was established in 1933 and was granted deemed university status in 2008, making it the only state-funded deemed university in India. On 12 February 2018 it was given status of Category 1 institute with graded autonomy by MHRD and UGC. It is also an institute with a special status as mentioned in SECTION IV of the Report of the Empowered Expert Committee in 2018.

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National Institute of Technology, Rourkela (NIT Rourkela or NITR), formerly Regional Engineering College, Rourkela is a publicly funded premier institute of higher learning for engineering, science and technology located in the steel city of Rourkela, Odisha, India. It is one of the 31 National Institutes of Technology in India and has been recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007. It is ranked 16 in the NIRF Rankings 2020 of Indian engineering universities.

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Bharathiar University is a state university in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Named after Tamil poet Subramania Bharati, the university was established in February 1982 under the provision of Bharathiar University Act, 1981 (Act 1 of 1982) and was recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1985.
The university is in the foothills of Marudamalai road, Coimbatore and has jurisdiction over the districts of Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur and the Nilgiris. It has 133 affiliated institutions (115 Aided and Self financing colleges, 13 Government colleges, 1 Air Force Administrative college, 3 Constituent colleges and one University PG Extension and Research Centre).
The university was established at Coimbatore by the government of Tamil Nadu in February, 1982 under the provision of the Bharathiar University Act, 1981 (Act 1 of 1982). The Postgraduate Centre of the University of Madras, which was functioning in Coimbatore before 1982 formed the core of the Bharathiar University. In May, 1985 the university received recognition from the University Grants Commission New Delhi for the purpose of grants.
The university is named after the great national poet Subramania Bharathi, with the motto “Educate to Elevate”.
Bharathiar University celebrated its silver jubilee celebrations on 24 February 2007. The president of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, and the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi, were chief guests. Bharathiar University provides graduate, masters, M.Phil and Ph.D programs in various subjects. The university is known for its stringent Phd evaluation guidelines.

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The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are the premier autonomous public technical and research universities located across India. They are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, which has declared them as Institutes of National Importance and lays down their powers, duties, and framework for governance. The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 lists twenty-three institutes. Each IIT is autonomous, linked to the others through a common council (IIT Council), which oversees their administration. The Minister of Education is the ex officio Chairperson of the IIT Council. As of 2020, the total number of seats for undergraduate programs in all IITs is 16,053. The only major requirement to admit to these institutions at undergraduate and postgraduate level is to pass the JEE Advanced and GATE respectively.

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The University of Madras or Madras University is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest universities in India, incorporated by an Act of Legislative Council of India under the British government.It is a collegiate research university and has six campuses in the city: Chepauk, Marina, Guindy, Taramani, Maduravoyal and Chetpet. It offers more than 230 courses under 87 academic departments of post-graduate teaching and research grouped under 18 schools, covering diverse areas such as sciences, social sciences, humanities, management and medicine along with 121 affiliated colleges and 53 approved research institutions. The university houses the national centres for advanced research in nanotechnology, photonics and neurotoxicity. Besides, having three Centres of Advanced Study (CAS) in biophysics, botany and mathematics.The National Assessment and Accreditation Council has conferred ‘five star’ accreditation to the university in the first cycle, and subsequently with its highest ‘A’ grade. The University of Madras has been given the status of ‘University with Potential for Excellence (UPE)’ by the University Grants Commission. Madras University is also recognized among the 18 universities in India having the ‘Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area (CPEPA)’ with a focus on drug development and climate change.University of Madras is the alma mater of two Indian Physics Nobel Laureates, CV Raman and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, five Presidents of India, including A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and several notable mathematicians including Srinivasa Ramanujan.

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Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate central university located in Chandigarh, India. Originated in 1882 as the University of the Punjab Lahore, it was relocated in Chandigarh in the year 1947 as the East Punjab University after the partition of India, where the university was split between India and Pakistan.
The university has 78 teaching and research departments and 10 centres/chairs for teaching and research at the main campus located at Chandigarh. It has 188 affiliated colleges spread over the eight districts of Punjab state and union-territory of Chandigarh, with Regional Centres at Muktsar, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur cities in Punjab state. It is one of the most well ranked universities in India.The campus is residential, spread over 550 acres (2.2 km2) in sector 14 and 25 of the city of Chandigarh. The main administrative and academic buildings are located in sector 14, beside a health centre, a sports complex, hostels and residential housing.

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Sri Venkateswara University (commonly referred as S. V. University or SVU) is a state university in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. The university is named after Lord Venkateswara, whose shrine is located in the city. The university was founded in 1954 by the then Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu, with Siram Govindarajulu Naidu as its first founding vice-chancellor.[2] The university campus covers a large area on land donated by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. It is located on the West side of Tirupati, surrounded by the other universities in the city, namely Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Sri Venkateswara Vedic University, Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences and National Sanskrit University.

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Rajasthan University of Health Sciences is a State university located in Pink City Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was established on 25 February 2005 under The Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (Act of Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha), 2005 (Act No. 1 of 2005) and started functioning on January 2006. It has its own college and acts as affiliating university to all Government & Society run [Also supports them in academic and research purposes] and some privately run medical colleges in Rajasthan.

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Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a government-owned autonomous science and technology university in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1971 and has two campuses: one in Kochi, and one in Kuttanad, Alappuzha, 66 km (41 mi) inland. The university awards degrees in engineering and science at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels. In the 2016-17 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, CUSAT is the only institution in Kerala, is one among the 31 institutions in the country to be ranked in the global survey.The university was founded in 1971 as the University of Cochin through an act of the Kerala Legislature, which was the result of a campaign for postgraduate education in the state. It was renamed as Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in February 1986. Its goals are to promote undergraduate and postgraduate studies and advanced research in applied science, technology, industry, commerce, management and social sciences.Admissions to both undergraduate and postgraduate courses are based on the Common Admission Test (CAT). Departmental Admission Tests (DAT) are conducted for some postgraduate courses.

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Dibrugarh University is a university in the Indian state of Assam. It was set up in 1965 under the provisions of the Dibrugarh University Act, 1965, enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. It is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, with an ‘A’ Grade in 2017. This accreditation status is valid for a period of five years. Dibrugarh University is a member of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).

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Utkal University is the oldest university in Odisha and the 17th-oldest university in India located in Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Odisha. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The present campus at Vani Vihar located on a sprawling 399.9 acre area in the heart of Bhubaneswar. This is the largest affiliating university in the country with 267 affiliated general colleges, 15 law colleges, 6 medical and pharmacy colleges.At present the University has twenty-seven Post-Graduate teaching and research departments located within the campus, viz. Directorate of Distance and Continuing Education, University Law College at Vani Vihar and M.S. Law College at Cuttack. The University is located in the middle of the city. It is 5 km from the airport, 3 km from the railway station. Sainik school is to its north. Mancheswar industrial area is to its east.
In 2016, Utkal University adopted its theme song from “tunga sikhar chula” (1st 3 stanzas) poem of Godabarish Mishra, one of its founder members.

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The Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) is a medical school located at Pondicherry, the capital of the Union Territory of Puducherry, in India. JIPMER is an Institute of National Importance (INI) and a tertiary care referral hospital that is under the direct administrative control of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India with autonomy to run its internal administration.

JIPMER, spread over a campus of 195 acres (0.79 km2), has over 300 faculty members, over 700 resident physicians and over 3,000 nursing, administrative and support staff. Every year, it admits 150 undergraduate students and 200 postgraduate students. The year 2019-20 saw over 24,00,000 outpatient visits, 350,000 inpatient admissions, and 70,000 surgeries performed at JIPMER.

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Guru Nanak Dev University (G.N.D.U.) was established at Amritsar, Punjab, India on 24 November 1969 to commemorate Guru Nanak Dev’s birth quincentenary. Guru Nanak Dev University’s campus is spread over 500 acres (2 km²) near village of Kot Khalsa, nearly 8 km west of the Amritsar, next to Khalsa College, Amritsar. G.N.D.U. is both a residential and an affiliating university. In conceiving its future course, the objectives enshrined in the Act 1969 emphasized that the new university would make provision for imparting education and promoting research in the humanities, learned professions, sciences, especially of applied nature and technology. Studies and research on the life and teachings of Guru Nanak, in addition to working towards the promotion of Punjabi language and spreading education among educationally backward classes and communities were the other commitments.

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