President Pranab Mukherjee today released the India Rankings 2017 report in a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He also presented awards to top-ranked institutions top 10 in overall category and toppers in the stream-wise categories -Engineering, Management, Universities, Colleges and Pharmacy. <br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, the President said, the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) started by the Ministry of HRD and now in its second year is a laudable initiative and will help our institutions to realize their potential and emerge as world class institutions. <br/><br/>Mr Mukherjee said, during the last two years, two Indian institutions have figured in the top 200 in international rankings. He said, Indian institutions have all the qualities necessary for being ranked high. <br/> <br/>The President said, the higher education sector in India has seen massive expansion during the last two decades. The number of Universities, Degree Colleges, IITs and NITs has increased but certain issues remain to be addressed. <br/><br/>He said, the first issue was regarding the lack of availability of quality teachers while the second was the problem of retaining our talents in our country. The President said, bright students every year go abroad as they consider that the facilities, environment and opportunities abroad are superior.