July 06, 2026

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The Unending Quest For EXCELLENCE

As the India Today Group's Best Colleges Survey enters its 30th edition, 30 insights on how this comprehensive guide charts the country's higher education landscape For millions of young Indians, college offers more than a degree, it opens the door to better earnings, wider exposure, professional networks, social confidence and the ability to move across regions, industries and class boundaries. In a country nearing the peak of its demographic dividend, higher education remains central to both individual mobility and national ambition. Yet the meaning of a college degree has changed. The job market is tougher, technology is reshaping skills and graduate unemployment remains worryingly high. A degree today must be backed by sound pedagogy, relevant curriculum, practical training, internships, credible assessment and real links with employers. That is why choosing the right college has become as important as choosing the right course. That decision can shape a young person's professional aspiration, and also determine whether the family's financial investment culminates in value or regret. The difference between government and private fees can be enormous, especially in medicine, engineering, law, design and architecture. In this landscape, the India Today Group's Best Colleges Survey, now in its 30th year, provides a vital public service. Built on innovation, accuracy and credibility, it serves as a trusted yardstick for students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders to assess India's college ecosystem. By looking beyond reputation to faculty quality, infrastructure, diversity, fees, funding, internships, placements, academic progression and campus life, the survey, conducted by Delhi-based market research agency MDRA, helps families separate performance and ambition from advertisement. When this survey began, India had a fraction of the colleges it has today and almost no independent way to compare them. Today, with more than 50,000 colleges in the country, the choice is bewildering, and the stakes exceptionally high. Continually widening and refining its scope in the past 30 years, the survey has added new disciplines, separated government and

A CENTURY OF ACADEMIC DISTINCTION

Students walking into Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) this year will join at a significant moment-- established in 1926, the college is celebrating its centenary, marking 100 years of being one of India's top commerce and economics institutions. Alongside the year-long celebrations, students will encounter a campus that is changing in response to wider shifts in higher education. Much of that change is being driven by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF), which encourage students to study beyond the boundaries of their degree programmes. A commerce student, for instance, can now take courses in, say, Psychology, Environmental Studies or