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Guide

Central Universities in India: State-wise List, Map and Rankings

Updated 11 Nov 20261 min read13 sections
On this page13 sections
  1. 1What is a Central University?
  2. 2Central Universities on the map of India
  3. 3All 57 Central Universities: search, filter, compare
  4. 4Which Central University leads on what
  5. 5How admission works: one entrance test for each level
  6. 6History of Central Universities: 1887 to 2023
  7. 7Types of Central Universities
  8. 8Central Universities that are not under the Ministry of Education
  9. 910 facts about Central Universities
  10. 10University-wise cutoff of 25 Central Universities, from the official lists
  11. 11Central Universities state by state
  12. 12List of Central Universities in India (table)
  13. 13Questions students ask

Every Central University of India on one page. Tap a state on the map, search and filter all of them by state and admission route, see which one leads on rank, size, salary and research, and open any university for its admission, courses, fees, placements and hostel.

57Central Universities31States and union territories13In the NIRF 2025 top 10049Admit through CUET UG2,29,869Students at 36 universities with data13,322Teachers at the same 36

What is a Central University?

A Central University is a university created by an Act of Parliament (before 1947, by an Act of the central legislature) and paid for by the Government of India. That is the whole difference from a State University, which a state legislature creates and a state government funds. Most Central Universities get their money through the University Grants Commission (UGC) and report to the Ministry of Education; a few belong to other ministries.

Because Parliament makes them, they follow the rules of the Union government everywhere in the country: the same reservation policy, the same pay scales for teachers, and since 2022 the same entrance test for admission, the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) of the National Testing Agency. A student from any state competes for the same seats on the same paper.

Made by
An Act of Parliament, one Act for one university or one Act for many
Paid by
The Government of India, mostly through the UGC
Visitor
The President of India is the Visitor of nearly all of them and appoints the Vice-Chancellor
Admission
CUET UG and CUET PG for most courses; open to students of every state

Central Universities on the map of India

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Boundaries are indicative, not to scale.

57 Central Universities in 31 states and union territories. Tap a state.

All 57 Central Universities: search, filter, compare

57 universities

Students, teachers and salary are the figures each university filed with NIRF (Ministry of Education) in its latest data return; a card without them means no return was published. Median pay is of the 2-year PG batch, shown when 10 or more students were placed.

Which Central University leads on what

Best ranked

NIRF 2025, University list

  1. 1Jawaharlal Nehru University#2
  2. 2Jamia Millia Islamia#4
  3. 3University of Delhi#5
  4. 4Banaras Hindu University#6
  5. 5Aligarh Muslim University#10
  6. 6University of Hyderabad#18
  7. 7BBAU#37
  8. 8Central University of Punjab#77

Largest campuses

Students and research scholars on campus

  1. 1Banaras Hindu University32,334
  2. 2Allahabad University27,724
  3. 3University of Delhi22,959
  4. 4HNBGU11,758
  5. 5Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya10,699
  6. 6Jamia Millia Islamia10,481
  7. 7Pondicherry University10,220
  8. 8Visva-Bharati University7,821

Highest PG median salary

Per year, 2-year PG batch placed on campus

  1. 1Jamia Millia IslamiaRs. 16.8 lakh
  2. 2University of DelhiRs. 16.2 lakh
  3. 3Manipur UniversityRs. 12.5 lakh
  4. 4BBAURs. 10.5 lakh
  5. 5CAURs. 10 lakh
  6. 6Banaras Hindu UniversityRs. 9 lakh
  7. 7Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityRs. 9 lakh
  8. 8Allahabad UniversityRs. 8.4 lakh

Most research funding

Sponsored research received in a year

  1. 1Banaras Hindu UniversityRs. 206 crore
  2. 2Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityRs. 182 crore
  3. 3University of DelhiRs. 105 crore
  4. 4Jamia Millia IslamiaRs. 90.9 crore
  5. 5CAURs. 60.1 crore
  6. 6Mizoram UniversityRs. 55.9 crore
  7. 7RPCAURs. 55.8 crore
  8. 8Tezpur UniversityRs. 38.6 crore

Oldest

Year the university was founded

  1. 1Allahabad University1887
  2. 2RPCAU1905
  3. 3Banaras Hindu University1916
  4. 4Aligarh Muslim University1920
  5. 5Jamia Millia Islamia1920
  6. 6Visva-Bharati University1921
  7. 7University of Delhi1922
  8. 8Dr. Hari Singh Gour University1946

Full tables: Central University Placements · Students at Central Universities · Faculty at Central Universities · Research Funding at Central Universities · NIRF Ranking of Central Universities

How admission works: one entrance test for each level

CUET UGUndergraduate courses after class 1249 of 57 universitiesCUET PGPostgraduate courses after graduation49 of 57 universitiesNET/JRFPhD admission and Assistant Professor eligibility48 of 57 universitiesNCET/ITEP4-year integrated B.Ed. (ITEP)17 of 57 universitiesGATEM.Tech, M.E. and direct PhD5 of 57 universitiesJEE MainB.Tech, B.E., B.Arch and B.Planning4 of 57 universitiesOwn EntranceCourses outside the common tests4 of 57 universitiesCLAT5-year integrated LL.B. and LL.M.3 of 57 universitiesCATMBA and other management programmes3 of 57 universitiesGAT-BM.Sc. and M.Tech in biotechnology and allied subjects3 of 57 universitiesNEET UGMBBS, BDS, AYUSH and nursing degrees2 of 57 universitiesAMU-ATAdmission route1 of 57 universities
State NominationAdmission route1 of 57 universities
ICAR CUET UGAdmission route1 of 57 universities
CAU University Entrance TestAdmission route1 of 57 universities
ICAR PG/PhD CounsellingAdmission route1 of 57 universities
Self-Financed AdmissionAdmission route1 of 57 universities
CUET UG (through ICAR UG counselling)Admission route1 of 57 universities
ICAR AIEEA PGAdmission route1 of 57 universities
National Sports University Entrance Examination (NSUEE)Admission route1 of 57 universities
Physical Fitness TestAdmission route1 of 57 universities
Game Proficiency TestAdmission route1 of 57 universities
Sports Achievement AssessmentAdmission route1 of 57 universities
Viva Voce (programme-specific)Admission route1 of 57 universities
ICAR AIEEADegrees in agriculture and allied sciences1 of 57 universities

History of Central Universities: 1887 to 2023

The list grew in bursts: three universities before Independence that the central legislature created itself, a handful of research universities around 1970, the North East in the 1990s, and then the single Act of 2009 that put a Central University in almost every state.

  1. 1887

    The oldest of today's Central Universities opens

    University of Allahabad is founded. It ran as a state university for most of its life and was made a Central University only in 2005.

  2. 1916

    Banaras Hindu University

    Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya's Banaras Hindu University starts at Varanasi under the Banaras Hindu University Act of 1915: a residential university built on donated land and donated money.

  3. 1920

    Aligarh, twice

    The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan began in 1875 becomes Aligarh Muslim University. In the same town and the same year teachers and students of the freedom movement start Jamia Millia Islamia, which moved to Delhi in 1925 and became a Central University in 1988.

  4. 1921

    Visva-Bharati

    Rabindranath Tagore opens Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan. Parliament declared it a Central University in 1951.

  5. 1922

    University of Delhi

    University of Delhi is set up by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly with three colleges. It is now among the largest universities of the country.

  6. 1969 to 1974

    The research universities

    Jawaharlal Nehru University (1969), North Eastern Hill University at Shillong (1973) and the University of Hyderabad (1974) are created as new universities, not conversions.

  7. 1985

    Learning at a distance

    Indira Gandhi National Open University is created to teach by distance; Pondicherry University opens the same year.

  8. 1993 to 2001

    The North East and the language universities

    Central Agricultural University, Imphal (1993), then Assam University, Tezpur University and Nagaland University (1994) and Mizoram University (2001). In between come Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (1996), the Hindi university at Wardha, MGAHV (1997), and the Urdu university, MANUU (1998).

  9. 2005 to 2008
  10. 2009

    Fifteen in one Act

    The Central Universities Act, 2009 sets up 12 new universities in states that had none, among them Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, and turns three state universities into Central ones: Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Dr. Hari Singh Gour University and HNB Garhwal University. No other Act has added so many at once.

  11. 2010 to 2018
  12. 2019 to 2023

    The newest

    Central University of Andhra Pradesh and the Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh (2019); three Sanskrit universities made Central by one Act in 2020; Sindhu Central University in Ladakh (2021); Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya for transport (2022); and Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University at Mulugu, Telangana (2023), the newest of all.

Types of Central Universities

Most Central Universities are general universities with many departments: arts, science, commerce, law, education. 19 of the 57 were set up for one subject or one purpose, and it matters for admission, because several of them take students through a different test or a different ministry.

Sanskrit 3

Three deemed universities became Central together under the Central Sanskrit Universities Act, 2020.

International 2

Created with other countries and placed under the Ministry of External Affairs.

Open and distance 1

Teaches through study centres and online; ranked in its own NIRF list.

Central Universities that are not under the Ministry of Education

9 Central Universities report to another ministry. They are Central Universities in every legal sense, but their money, their rules of admission and often their entrance test come from that ministry and not from the UGC.

MinistryCentral Universities
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers WelfareCentral Agricultural University
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University
Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University
Ministry of External AffairsNalanda University
South Asian University
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and WaterwaysIndian Maritime University
Ministry of Civil AviationRajiv Gandhi National Aviation University
Ministry of Youth Affairs and SportsNational Sports University
Ministry of RailwaysGati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya

10 facts about Central Universities

  1. A campus that is a World Heritage Site

    Santiniketan, the home of Visva-Bharati, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in September 2023. Tagore began it as a school in 1901 and as a university in 1921.

  2. Two universities, one town, one year

    Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia were both born in Aligarh in 1920. One stayed; the other moved to Delhi five years later.

  3. Hyderabad and Imphal hold three each

    Hyderabad has the University of Hyderabad, MANUU and EFLU; Imphal has Manipur University, Central Agricultural University and the National Sports University. Only Delhi has more.

  4. One Act, fifteen universities

    The Central Universities Act of 2009 created 12 universities and converted three on the same day. Before it, several large states had no Central University at all.

  5. Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir got a second one by splitting the first

    The 2009 university of Bihar became Central University of South Bihar when Mahatma Gandhi Central University was created at Motihari; Jammu got its own university beside the Central University of Kashmir.

  6. A university older than its own status by 118 years

    University of Allahabad was founded in 1887 and became a Central University in 2005.

  7. An ancient name, a new university

    Nalanda University was set up by an Act of 2010 at Rajgir, near the ruins of the ancient Nalanda monastery, with the support of the countries of the East Asia Summit.

  8. IITs, NITs and AIIMS are not Central Universities

    They are Institutes of National Importance, each under its own Act. They are funded by the Union government too, but they are not on the UGC list of Central Universities and do not admit through CUET.

  9. The newest was promised in a law about a state

    Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University exists because the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014 required the Centre to open a tribal university in Telangana. Parliament passed the law for it in December 2023.

  10. Agriculture began at Pusa in 1905

    Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University stands where the Imperial agricultural research institute was started at Pusa in 1905; it became a Central University in 2016.

University-wise cutoff of 25 Central Universities, from the official lists

Central Universities state by state

List of Central Universities in India (table)

#
1Central Tribal University of Andhra PradeshCTUAPVizianagaramAndhra Pradesh2019-
2Central University of Andhra PradeshCUAPAnantapuramAndhra Pradesh2019-
3National Sanskrit UniversityNSUTirupatiAndhra Pradesh1956-
4Rajiv Gandhi UniversityRGUItanagarArunachal Pradesh1985-
5Assam UniversityAUSSilcharAssam1994#97
6Tezpur UniversityTezpur UnivTezpurAssam1994#79
7Central University of South BiharCUSBGayaBihar2009-
8Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture UniversityRPCAUPusa, SamastipurBihar1905-
9Mahatma Gandhi Central UniversityMGCUMotihariBihar2016-
10Nalanda UniversityNalandaRajgirBihar2010-
11Guru Ghasidas VishwavidyalayaGGVBilaspurChhattisgarh1983-
12Central Sanskrit UniversityCSUNew DelhiDelhi1970-
13Indira Gandhi National Open UniversityIGNOUNew DelhiDelhi1985-
14Jamia Millia IslamiaJMINew DelhiDelhi1920#4
15Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityJNUNew DelhiDelhi1969#2
16Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit UniversitySLBSNSUNew DelhiDelhi1962-
17South Asian UniversitySAUNew DelhiDelhi2010-
18University of DelhiDUNew DelhiDelhi1922#5
19Central University of GujaratCUGGandhinagarGujarat2009-
20Gati Shakti VishwavidyalayaGSVVadodaraGujarat2022-
21Central University of HaryanaCUHMahendergarhHaryana2009-
22Central University of Himachal PradeshCUHPDharamshalaHimachal Pradesh2009-
23Central University of JammuCUJJammuJammu and Kashmir2011-
24Central University of KashmirCUKGanderbalJammu and Kashmir2009-
25Central University of JharkhandCU JharkhandRanchiJharkhand2009-
26Central University of KarnatakaCU KarnatakaKalaburagiKarnataka2009-
27Central University of KeralaCU KeralaKasaragodKerala2009-
28Sindhu Central UniversitySindhu CUKhalatseLadakh2021-
29Dr. Hari Singh Gour UniversityDHSGUSagarMadhya Pradesh1946-
30Indira Gandhi National Tribal UniversityIGNTUAmarkantakMadhya Pradesh2007-
31Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi VishwavidyalayaMGAHVWardhaMaharashtra1997-
32Central Agricultural UniversityCAUImphalManipur1993-
33Manipur UniversityManipur UnivImphalManipur1980-
34National Sports UniversityNSUImphalManipur2018-
35North Eastern Hill UniversityNEHUShillongMeghalaya1973-
36Mizoram UniversityMZUAizawlMizoram2000#82
37Nagaland UniversityNagaland UnivLumamiNagaland1994-
38Central University of OdishaCUOKoraputOdisha2009-
39Pondicherry UniversityPondicherryPondicherryPuducherry1985-
40Central University of PunjabCUPBathindaPunjab2009#77
41Central University of RajasthanCURAJAjmerRajasthan2009#89
42Sikkim UniversitySikkim UnivGangtokSikkim2007-
43Central University of Tamil NaduCUTNTiruvarurTamil Nadu2009#83
44Indian Maritime UniversityIMUChennaiTamil Nadu2008-
45English and Foreign Languages UniversityEFLUHyderabadTelangana1958-
46Maulana Azad National Urdu UniversityMANUUHyderabadTelangana1998-
47Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal UniversitySSCTUMuluguTelangana2023-
48University of HyderabadHyderabadTelangana1974#18
49Tripura UniversityTripura UnivAgartalaTripura1987-
50Aligarh Muslim UniversityAMUAligarhUttar Pradesh1920#10
51Allahabad UniversityAllahabadPrayagrajUttar Pradesh1887-
52Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar UniversityBBAULucknowUttar Pradesh1996#37
53Banaras Hindu UniversityBHUVaranasiUttar Pradesh1916#6
54Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation UniversityRGNAURaebareliUttar Pradesh2013-
55Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural UniversityRLBCAUJhansiUttar Pradesh2014-
56Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal UniversityHNBGUSrinagarUttarakhand1973-
57Visva-Bharati UniversityVBUShantiniketanWest Bengal1921-

Tap a column heading to sort by it.

Questions students ask

How many Central Universities are there in India?

This site lists 57 Central Universities, spread over 31 states and union territories. A Central University is set up by an Act of Parliament and funded by the Government of India, most of them through the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission.

Which state has the most Central Universities?

Delhi (7), Uttar Pradesh (6), Bihar (4), Telangana (4) have the most. 20 states and union territories have exactly one.

Which states and union territories have no Central University?

No Central University has its main campus in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Lakshadweep.

Which is the best ranked Central University?

Jawaharlal Nehru University is the best placed Central University in the University list of NIRF 2025, at rank 2. The ranking is published every year by the Ministry of Education.

How do I get admission to a Central University?

Through a national entrance test held by the National Testing Agency: CUET UG after class 12 (49 universities on this list), CUET PG after graduation (49). After the result each university runs its own counselling, so you also register on the admission portal of every university you want.

What is the difference between a Central University and a State University?

A Central University is created by an Act of Parliament and funded by the Union government; a State University is created by a state legislature and funded mainly by that state. Central Universities admit students from every state through the same national test and follow the reservation rules of the Government of India.

Is a Central University better than a State University?

Not by rule. Central Universities usually have steadier funding, more teachers per student, lower fees and students from every state, and many of them rank high in NIRF. But several State Universities and private universities rank above many Central Universities. Compare the university and the department you want, not the label.

Are IITs, NITs, IIMs and AIIMS Central Universities?

No. They are Institutes of National Importance created by their own Acts of Parliament. They are centrally funded, but they are not Central Universities and they admit through JEE, CAT, NEET and their own tests, not CUET.

Are fees lower in Central Universities?

For most regular courses, yes: tuition for a general degree is usually far lower than in private universities because the Union government pays most of the cost. Self-financed and professional courses cost more. The fee of every course is on the Fees section of each university page on this site.

Is there reservation for students of the home state?

In most Central Universities, no: seats follow the reservation policy of the Government of India (SC, ST, OBC non-creamy layer, EWS and persons with disabilities) and students of all states compete together. A few universities keep some seats or a preference for local or internal candidates under their own Acts and rules; check the admission page of the university.

Who is the head of a Central University?

The Vice-Chancellor runs the university. Above the Vice-Chancellor is the Visitor, who for nearly every Central University is the President of India, and a Chancellor who presides over convocations.

Which is the oldest and which is the newest Central University?

By year of founding the oldest is the University of Allahabad (1887); Banaras Hindu University (1916) is the oldest that began as a central institution. The newest is Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University in Telangana, created by an Act of 2023.

A university is counted in the state or union territory of its main campus; several also run campuses and regional centres in other states. Counts on this page are of the universities listed on this site; the official list is kept by the University Grants Commission.

Sources
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