In the last few years, India’s education system has undergone much change, at the secondary education level as well as in higher, college education. Some of these, especially the change in the Class 10 examination system, are beginning to take root, though teething troubles remain. Some others, like the Four-Year University Programme, still in its infancy, continue to face resistance, from students and academics alike. The arrival of a new government and its declared intention of taking a logical, hard look at these changes has sparked hope in students aspiring to get into India’s burgeoning educational institutions. The plan to substantially increase resources for the education sector has raised expectations of an increased focus on improving the quality of education not just at college level but from primary school onwards. The current state of higher education is not very encouraging. According to the All India Council for Technical Education, India has over 3,500 engineering colleges with a capacity of over 1.7 million and actual enrolments of over 1.2 million students. Yet, many struggle to find a proper institution to get quality education. It is in this light that Outlook’s annual ranking of India’s Best Professional Colleges becomes relevant, for students, parents and all stakeholders in the Indian education ecosystem. Last year, India’s Best Professional Colleges Handbook gave a snapshot of the entire spectrum of top engineering and medical colleges in India, along with Outlook’s last three years’ rankings. We also presented a new, unique aggregated ranking of India’s top engineering and medical colleges based on the colleges’ performance in Outlook’s rankings over the three years. This year’s Handbook has fresh aggregated ranking of engineering and medical colleges based on their rankings in 2011, 2012 and 2013. We also present the complete rankings of the last three years for all streams, complete with parameters-wise scores and supplementary tables. Like last year, there is also a comprehensive information pack of India’s top 100 engineering colleges and top 30 medical colleges. Alongside, we have also reproduced some of Outlook’s defining stories and interviews. So, for those lost in the fast changing Indian educational environment, Outlook hopes to offer some clarity. As always, choose wisely.less