PATNA, Sept. 5 -- Indian Institute of Technology, Patna (IIT-P) significantly improved its position from last year's 73rd, to settle at 39th rank in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), released on Thursday. IIT-P has been ranked 39th in the list of top 100 research institutions in the country, while in the list of engineering institutions it is ranked 19th. The only other institution from the state finding place in the list of engineering institutions is NIT, Patna at 53rd place. On the other hand, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna has slipped out of top 100 overall ranking to finish in rank band 101-150. In the stream of law, Chanakya National Law University (Patna) and Central University of South Bihar (CUSB), Gaya were ranked 17th and 23rd respectively in the list of 40 top institutions, with NLU (Bangalore) and NLU (Delhi) continuing to occupy the top two slots. CUSB is ranked in the 151-200 band in the universities category. Central University of South Bihar (CUSB), Gaya also figures at 63rd rank in the list of top 100 pharmacy institutions, while National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hajipur is ranked 30th. Among top 50 medical colleges,AIIMS (Patna) was placed at 27th spot, same as last year, while among the top 100 management institutions, IIM (Bodh Gaya) figures at 31st place and Amity University (Patna) in the rank band of 101-125. In the ranking of 40 agriculture colleges, Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University and Bihar Agriculture University have been ranked 14 and 36 respectively. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University is in the ranking band of 101-150 in the universities category. In the NIRF ranking of colleges, the lone institution finding place in the 101-159 rank band is Patna Women's College. There was a reality check for the state institutions for both universities and colleges, as none could feature in the top 100. In the list of state public universities also, Bihar drew a blank. The central institutions, which have come up in large numbers in the last couple of decades, saved the day. Bihar's premiere Patna University was the only state university that found place in the 2024 NIRF, ranked in the range of 51-100 among state public universities. This year, it does not feature in the 51-100 rank band. The presence of not a single university in the state in the overall ranking for universities tells the story of the condition of higher education institutions that still bask in the legacy of Nalanda and Vikramshila Universities....