Guidelines for Higher Education Institutions by NIRF

Context

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), established under the Ministry of Education, will now impose penalties on institutions whose research papers are retracted due to plagiarism, falsified data, or unethical practices. 

Recent Directives by NIRF

• NIRF will award negative marks to higher education institutions for retracted research papers and their corresponding citations over the past three calendar years.
  • This is the first time that negative marking will be incorporated in NIRF’s ranking calculations.
• Institutions with retracted research papers will face minor penalties in the 2025 ranking, particularly in the category of “Research and Professional Practice.”
• From the 2026 ranking onward, stricter penalties will be enforced, including significant reduction in scores that will impact the overall institutional ranking.
• If the number of retractions does not decline, institutions may even be blacklisted for a few years.
• These penalties apply only in cases of ethical violations, not in the case of honest mistakes. 

Objective

• To enhance the credibility of Indian research outcomes.
• To encourage institutions to promote ethical publication practices. 

Significance

• There has been a noticeable rise in research paper retractions in India.
• This move addresses global concerns regarding the quality of research in Indian academia.
• It will compel institutions to monitor and guide faculty more rigorously. 

About NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework)

• It was launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Education.
• It ranks higher education institutions based on criteria such as teaching, research, graduate outcomes, etc.
• One of the key parameters used by NIRF is “Research and Professional Practice.”
  • This category considers the weighted number of publications and the quality of publications in a given year.