Gandhigram Rural Institute, Dindigul

The Gandhigram Rural Institute (GRI) is a centrally-funded deemed university situated in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1956 by G. Ramachandran and his wife T.S. Soundaram, adopting Mahatma Gandhi's Nai Talim education model. In 1976, the UGC declared it a Deemed University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, and it is fully funded by the UGC. In 2006, it was renamed Gandhigram Rural Institute per UGC guidelines. The institute has grown into a major educational complex with seven faculties—rural development, rural economics and extension education, rural-oriented sciences, cooperation, development administration, rural sociology, and English, Tamil and Indian languages—offering more than 50 programmes leading to doctoral, master's, bachelor's degrees, diplomas, and certificates. It has about 3000 students, 150 teaching staff, and 250 non-teaching staff. NAAC accredited it with five-star status in 2002 and an A grade in 2010 and 2016. The campus spans nearly 200 acres in a rural setting near the Sirumalai range, north of Madurai. NIRF ranked it 91st among Indian universities in 2020, 101–150 in 2021, and 151–200 in 2022. Notable alumni include K. R. Meera, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and Raghavan.