Which of the following universities received the Visitor’s Award for Best…

Concept

The Visitor’s Awards recognize excellence within India’s central-university system. For the Best University category, the relevant evidence is the official annual announcement issued by the President of India in the President’s role as Visitor.

This award should be distinguished from rankings such as NIRF and from the separate Visitor’s Award categories for Research and Innovation.

Application

The official President of India announcement for the 2017 Visitor’s Awards states that Jawaharlal Nehru University won the Best University award. It was announced on 2 March 2017 and scheduled for presentation on 6 March 2017.

Therefore, the time reference is best stated as “for 2017”, not “in February 2017”.

Cross-check and contrast

• Banaras Hindu University appears in the same announcement through Dr Shyam Sunder, a joint recipient in the Research category.

• Tezpur University appears through Prof Niranjan Karak, also a joint recipient in the Research category.

• The University of Hyderabad is not listed as the Best University winner in that official announcement.

Thus, the university that received the 2017 Visitor’s Award for Best University was Jawaharlal Nehru University.