All of these look good on paper, and makes great headlines. But if the methodologies of rankings are not generalizable and valid, the whole ranking system can only be considered as a facelift. What are some of the issues in the ranking system for medical institutions that make it a flawed and misguided effort? First, only 101 institutions participated in the ranking. Kerala, for instance, is home to several top class medical institutions. But none of the government medical colleges participated in the rankings. Second, the data for ranking on each of these parameters are provided by the institution itself. In fact, the document mentions that the ‘responsibility for accuracy and authenticity of data lies with the concerned institution’. What institution would not want to figure in the top ten positions, especially if it is a privately funded medical school? With such an obvious conflict of interest, can we rely on the data that are provided by the medical schools? Third, how can you reliably assess graduation outcomes of medical schools using the parameters of ‘students’ placed’, ‘median salary earned’, and ‘number of students selected for higher studies’? At the moment, any doctor who graduates from any medical school in India has a 100% placement record. There is no shortage of jobs for a medical school graduate. Is the intention of such rankings aimed to foster a world where the doctor who earns the highest salary is considered the best? If not, such a parameter has no place in the ranking of medical schools in India.