IIRF Medical Ranking 2026: Odisha’s Govt Medical Colleges Shine, But Andhra Pradesh Holds The Edge; AIIMS Bhubaneswar Beats Neighbouring AIIMS| Special Report

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s government medical institutions have put up a strong performance in the IIRF Medical Rankings 2026, with two of its premier institutions breaking into the national Top 20, yet the state still trails Andhra Pradesh at the top of the regional leaderboard.

The bigger distinction for Odisha, however, is that AIIMS Bhubaneswar has emerged as the clear leader among the neighbouring AIIMS institutions, outperforming AIIMS Mangalagiri, AIIMS Raipur, AIIMS Deoghar and AIIMS Kalyani.

The latest IIRF ranking, released on August 3, has therefore brought laurels as well as lessons for Odisha’s public medical education system.

While the state has demonstrated considerable institutional depth, the rankings also underline the need to push its flagship institutions further up the national league table and narrow the gap with the best-performing medical colleges in neighbouring states.

Odisha vs Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh & Jharkhand: Strong Showing, But Room To Climb

The regional comparison presents a mixed picture for Odisha. Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, at AIR 13, is the highest-ranked institution among the major government medical colleges of the neighbouring states considered here, placing it ahead of SCB Medical College, Cuttack (#15). Odisha, however, regains ground through its second flagship, AIIMS Bhubaneswar (16).

West Bengal also has a stronger individual performer in GMC Kolkata at #6, while R.G. Kar Medical College is ranked #12, ahead of both SCB and AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Yet Odisha’s two premier institutions are ahead of several major West Bengal institutions, including Calcutta National Medical College (#39), Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College (52) and AIIMS Kalyani (29).

The comparison becomes even more favourable for Odisha against Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. AIIMS Bhubaneswar (16) is comfortably ahead of AIIMS Raipur (26) and AIIMS Deoghar (31). Odisha’s state-run medical network also shows greater depth, with VIMSAR Burla at #64 and MKCG Medical College, Berhampur at 74, compared with MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur at 73 and Pt JNM Medical College, Raipur at 77.

The numbers thus suggest that Odisha is not lagging in institutional depth but is yet to match the very top performers of the region. Andhra Pradesh’s Andhra Medical College has edged SCB, while West Bengal has two institutions inside the national Top 12. Odisha’s challenge now is to convert its strong Top-20 presence into higher national rankings.

AIIMS Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Clear Leader Among Neighbouring AIIMS

If there is one distinct regional advantage for Odisha, it is AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

Ranked #16 nationally with an overall score of 932.52, the Bhubaneswar institute is comfortably ahead of other AIIMS institutions in the neighbouring states. AIIMS Kalyani is #29, AIIMS Raipur 26, AIIMS Deoghar 31 and AIIMS Mangalagiri 23.

This makes AIIMS Bhubaneswar the best-performing AIIMS in the broader eastern and east-central regional cluster represented in the ranking. Its position also places it just one rank behind Odisha’s own SCB Medical College, demonstrating the strength of the state’s public medical ecosystem.

SCB vs AIIMS Bhubaneswar: State Medical College Beats Central Flagship

Interestingly, the most striking feature of Odisha’s ranking is that its 100-year-plus state medical institution has marginally outperformed its much newer central counterpart.

SCB Medical College, Cuttack, is ranked 15 with a score of 933.09, while AIIMS Bhubaneswar is ranked 16 with 932.52. The difference is only 0.57 points, making the contest virtually neck-and-neck.

SCB’s performance is particularly notable on the infrastructure front. Its Innovative Medical Infrastructure score of 153.58 is only around three points below AIIMS New Delhi’s 156.67, indicating the extent to which Odisha’s premier state-run medical college has built up its clinical and institutional capacity.

The ranking also establishes a rare distinction for Odisha: a state government medical college has finished ahead of a central AIIMS within the same state.

Together, SCB and AIIMS Bhubaneswar have placed Odisha two institutions inside the national Top 20, a performance that puts the state among the stronger public medical education ecosystems in the country.

What The IIRF Ranking Measures

The IIRF Medical Rankings assess institutions on a 1,000-point scale across six broad parameters: Teaching Learning Resources & Pedagogy, Research Outcome, Innovative Medical Infrastructure, Social Inclusion, Future Orientation, and External Perception & International Outlook.

The rankings therefore go beyond merely assessing clinical infrastructure. Research productivity, academic resources, inclusivity, future preparedness and institutional reputation also influence the final score.

For Odisha, the ranking offers an important policy signal: infrastructure and institutional depth are emerging strengths, but improving research outcomes, academic resources and external perception could be critical for pushing its institutions higher.

Top 5 Medical Institutions In India

At the national level, AIIMS New Delhi retained the No. 1 position with a commanding 953.32, followed closely by Madras Medical College, Chennai (952.67) and JIPMER, Puducherry (951.75).

King George Medical University, Lucknow, secured fourth position with 948.50, while Pt. B D Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, completed the Top 5 with 945.12.

The national leaderboard also shows how competitive the top tier has become. Odisha’s SCB and AIIMS Bhubaneswar are about 20 points behind AIIMS New Delhi, leaving a sizeable but not insurmountable gap.

For Odisha, therefore, the IIRF 2026 results are a dual message: the state has built a formidable public medical education base in the East, but its next challenge is to move from regional strength to national Top-10 competitiveness.