National Institutes of Technology
Encyclopedia
The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) , are a group of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 institutes in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Comprising thirty autonomous institutes, they are located in one each major state/territory of India. On their inception decades ago, all NITs were referred as Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) and were governed by their respective state governments. A parliamentary legislation in 2002 brought them under the direct purview of India's federal government
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

. In 2007, through another legislation
NIT Act
The National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007 was enacted by the Parliament of India to declare India's National Institutes of Technology as Institutes of National Importance. The Act received the assent of the President of India on 5 June 2007 and became effective on Independence Day ,2007...

, the Indian government declared these schools as Institutes of National Importance
Institute of National Importance
An Institute of National Importance, in India is defined as one which serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled personnel within the specified region of the country/state. Institutes on the list are usually supported by the Government of India...

 at par with the Indian Institutes of Technology
Indian Institutes of Technology
The Indian Institutes of Technology are a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education. The IITs are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 which has declared them as “institutions of national importance”, and lays down their powers, duties,...

.

NITs were founded to promote regional diversity and multi-cultural understanding in India. Therefore, in the NIT school system, half of the student population in each batch is drawn from the respective state of the NIT and the other half is drawn from the rest of India on a common merit list. This is different than the Indian Institutes of Technology
Indian Institutes of Technology
The Indian Institutes of Technology are a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education. The IITs are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 which has declared them as “institutions of national importance”, and lays down their powers, duties,...

 or IITs - another prominent engineering school system in India. An IIT need not accept specified number of students from any region of India as the IIT admission criteria is based only on the performance of a student in an entrance examination.

NITs offer degree courses at bachelors, masters, and doctorate levels in various branches of engineering and technology. Various nationwide college surveys rate most of the NITs over other colleges in India, except for the IITs and a few other institutions. NITs function autonomously, similarly to IITs, sharing only entrance tests. The autonomy enables the NITs to set up their own curriculum, thereby making it easier to adapt to changing industry requirements.

History

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

 sought to develop India as a leader in science and technology. The Government started fourteen RECs between 1959 and 1965, at Bhopal, Allahabad
Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad
Motilal Nehru National Institute Of Technology is a Deemed University of National Importance as Declared by NIT Act, GOI, 2007 located in the city of Allahabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh...

, Calicut, Durgapur
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
The National Institute of Technology, Durgapur , formerly the Regional Engineering College , Durgapur, was established under an Act of the Parliament of India in 1960 as one of the eight RECs...

, Kurukshetra
National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
The National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra , formerly Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, is a public technical university wholly funded by Government of India. In December 2008, it was accredited with the status of Institution of National Importance...

, Jamshedpur
National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur
National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur , formerly Regional Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, is a technology higher education institute located at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India...

, Jaipur
Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur
Malviya National Institute of Technology at Jaipur is a higher education institute for technical education in India located at Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It is one of the National Institutes of Technology and an Institute of National Importance. It was established in 1963. The institute is fully...

, Nagpur, Rourkela
National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
National Institute of Technology – Rourkela , formerly known as the Regional Engineering College Rourkela , is a publicly funded institute of higher learning for engineering and technology located in the steel city of Rourkela, Orissa, India. It was established in the year 1961 by a joint...

, Srinagar
National Institute of Technology, Srinagar
The National Institute of Technology, Srinagar , formerly Regional Engineering College, Srinagar, commonly known as NIT-Srinagar or NIT-SRI, is an Institute of National Importance in Northern India...

, Surathkal
National Institute of Technology Karnataka
National Institute of Technology Karnataka , formerly known as Karnataka Regional Engineering College , is an autonomous university along the western shores of India. It was founded in 1960 is today one of the 30 National Institutes of Technology in India and is recognized as an Institute of...

, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, and Warangal
National Institute of Technology, Warangal
National Institute of Technology, Warangal is an undergraduate and post graduate engineering institute located in Warangal, India...

). It established one in Silchar
National Institute of Technology, Silchar
National Institute Of Technology Silchar is a higher education institute situated in Silchar, Assam, India. NIT Silchar is one of the National Institutes of Technology and an Institute of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007. It was established in 1967 as a...

 in 1967 and added two others located at Hamirpur
National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur
The National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur is a university located in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India and is wholly funded by Government of India. It is one of the thirty National Institutes of Technology established and administered by Government of India...

 in 1986, and Jalandhar
National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
The Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, popularly known as NIT-Jalandhar , is a autonomous university in northern India. The Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar is one of the youngest of the 20 National Institutes of Technology of India...

 in 1987.

The RECs were jointly operated by the central government and the concerned state government. Non-recurring expenditures and expenditures for post-graduate courses during the REC period were borne by the central government, while recurring expenditure on undergraduate courses was shared equally by central and state governments.

The success of technology-based industry led to high demand for technical and scientific education. Due to the enormous costs and infrastructure involved in creating globally respected Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), in 2002 MHRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi
Murli Manohar Joshi
Murli Manohar Joshi was the Union Human Resources Development minister of India in the NDA government. Joshi is a leading member of the Bharatiya Janata Party...

 decided to upgrade RECs to "National Institutes of Technology" (NITs) instead of creating IITs. The central government controls NITs and provides all funding. In 2003, all RECs became NITs.

The upgrade was designed along the lines of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) after it was concluded that RECs had potential as proven by the success of their alumni and their contributions in the field of technical education. Subsequently, funding and autonomy for NITs increased, and they award degrees which have raised their graduates' perceived value. These changes implemented recommendations of the "High Powered Review Committee" (HPRC). The HPRC, chaired by Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, submitted its report entitled "Strategic Road Map for Academic Excellence of Future RECs" in 1998.

In 2006, MHRD issued NIT status to three more colleges, located at Patna
National Institute of Technology, Patna
The National Institute of Technology Patna , formerly Bihar School of Engineering and Bihar College of Engineering, is a National Institute of Technology located in Patna, Bihar, India. It was created by the Government of India on January 28, 2004.-History:NITP is the sixth oldest engineering...

 (Bihar Engineering College - a 110 year old college), Raipur
National Institute of Technology, Raipur
The National Institute of Technology Raipur is a technical institution funded by the Government of India, located in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Founded in 1956 as Govt. College of Mining & Metallurgy with two engineering disciplines, mining and metallurgy, the institute is one of the oldest of its kind...

 (Government Engineering College), and Agartala
National Institute of Technology, Agartala
National Institute of Technology, Agartala was founded as Tripura Engineering College in 1965 and upgraded to NIT in 2006.-History:The College was started with courses in three traditional branches of engineering, namely Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering...

 (Tripura Engineering College). Based on the request of state governments and feasibility, future NITs are either converted from existing institutes or can be freshly created. The 21st (and the first brand-new) NIT is planned for Imphal in the north-eastern state of Manipur at an initial cost of Rs. 500 crores. In 2010, the government announced setting up ten new NITs in the remaining states/territories. This would lead to every state in India having its own NIT.

2007 National Institutes of Technology Act

With the Indian technology industry's continuing growth, the government decided to upgrade twenty National Institutes of Technology to full-fledged technical universities. Parliament passed enabling legislation, the National Institutes of Technology Act in 2007 and took effect on 15 August of that year. The target is to fulfill the need for quality manpower in the field of engineering, science, and technology and to provide consistent governance, fee structure, and rules across the NITs. in both houses of Parliament. The law designates each NIT an Institute of National Importance (INI).

Financing

Average NIT funding increased to Rs. 50 crores by year 2008. On average, each NIT also receives Rs. 20-25 crores under World Bank funded Technical Education Quality Improvement Program (TEQIP). All NITs have shown improvements in student quality, administration structure, academic research, and student placements.

List of NITs

Name Established Short Name Upgraded as NIT Location or Temporary Campus/
Mentor NIT
State/UT
National Institute of Technology, Agartala
National Institute of Technology, Agartala
National Institute of Technology, Agartala was founded as Tripura Engineering College in 1965 and upgraded to NIT in 2006.-History:The College was started with courses in three traditional branches of engineering, namely Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering...

1965 NITAGARTALA 2006 Agartala Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...

Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad
Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad
Motilal Nehru National Institute Of Technology is a Deemed University of National Importance as Declared by NIT Act, GOI, 2007 located in the city of Allahabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh...

1961 MNNIT 2002 Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...

Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal 1960 MANIT 2002 Bhopal Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

National Institute of Technology, Calicut 1961 NITC 2002 Calicut Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep , formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala...

National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
The National Institute of Technology, Durgapur , formerly the Regional Engineering College , Durgapur, was established under an Act of the Parliament of India in 1960 as one of the eight RECs...

1960 NITDGP 2003 Durgapur West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur
National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur
The National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur is a university located in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India and is wholly funded by Government of India. It is one of the thirty National Institutes of Technology established and administered by Government of India...

1986 NITH 2002 Hamirpur
Hamirpur
Hamirpur is the name of two cities and two districts in India:* Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, the administrative headquarters of Hamirpur District, Himachal Pradesh* Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh...

Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur
Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur
Malviya National Institute of Technology at Jaipur is a higher education institute for technical education in India located at Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It is one of the National Institutes of Technology and an Institute of National Importance. It was established in 1963. The institute is fully...

1963 MNIT 2002 Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology 1987 NITJ 2002 Jalandhar
Jalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...

Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur
National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur
National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur , formerly Regional Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, is a technology higher education institute located at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India...

1960 NITJSR 2002 Jamshedpur Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...

National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
The National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra , formerly Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, is a public technical university wholly funded by Government of India. In December 2008, it was accredited with the status of Institution of National Importance...

1963 NITKKR 2002 Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...

Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur 1960 VNIT 2002 Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...

Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

National Institute of Technology, Patna
National Institute of Technology, Patna
The National Institute of Technology Patna , formerly Bihar School of Engineering and Bihar College of Engineering, is a National Institute of Technology located in Patna, Bihar, India. It was created by the Government of India on January 28, 2004.-History:NITP is the sixth oldest engineering...

1886 NITP 2004 Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...

Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

National Institute of Technology, Raipur
National Institute of Technology, Raipur
The National Institute of Technology Raipur is a technical institution funded by the Government of India, located in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Founded in 1956 as Govt. College of Mining & Metallurgy with two engineering disciplines, mining and metallurgy, the institute is one of the oldest of its kind...

1956 NITRR 2005 Raipur Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....

National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
National Institute of Technology – Rourkela , formerly known as the Regional Engineering College Rourkela , is a publicly funded institute of higher learning for engineering and technology located in the steel city of Rourkela, Orissa, India. It was established in the year 1961 by a joint...

1961 NITRKL 2002 Rourkela
Rourkela
Rourkela is located in the northwestern tip of the Indian state of Orissa at the heart of a rich mineral belt. It is situated about north of state capital Bhubaneswar.It is surrounded by a range of hills and encircled by rivers. One of the largest steel plants of the Steel Authority of India...

Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

National Institute of Technology, Silchar
National Institute of Technology, Silchar
National Institute Of Technology Silchar is a higher education institute situated in Silchar, Assam, India. NIT Silchar is one of the National Institutes of Technology and an Institute of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007. It was established in 1967 as a...

1967 NITS 2002 Silchar
Silchar
Silchar is the headquarters of Cachar district in the state of Assam in India. It is the economic gateway to the state of Mizoram and part of Manipur. It is south east of Guwahati. The city of Silchar has tremendous commercial importance and is the second largest city in the state of Assam...

Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

National Institute of Technology, Srinagar
National Institute of Technology, Srinagar
The National Institute of Technology, Srinagar , formerly Regional Engineering College, Srinagar, commonly known as NIT-Srinagar or NIT-SRI, is an Institute of National Importance in Northern India...

1960 NITSRI 2003 Srinagar
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...

Jammu & Kashmir
S V National Institute of Technology, Surat 1961 SVNIT 2003 Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...

Gujarat
National Institute of Technology Karnataka
National Institute of Technology Karnataka
National Institute of Technology Karnataka , formerly known as Karnataka Regional Engineering College , is an autonomous university along the western shores of India. It was founded in 1960 is today one of the 30 National Institutes of Technology in India and is recognized as an Institute of...

1958 NITK 2002 Surathkal
Surathkal
Surathkal is a locality under Mangalore City Corporation located in the Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka state, India...

Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 1964 NITT 2003 Tiruchirappalli Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

National Institute of Technology, Warangal
National Institute of Technology, Warangal
National Institute of Technology, Warangal is an undergraduate and post graduate engineering institute located in Warangal, India...

 
1958 NITW 2002 Warangal
Warangal
Warangal is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Warangal is located northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad and is the administrative headquarters of Warangal District. This district is a combination of three cities: Warangal,...

Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

New NITs
National Institute of Technology Goa 2010 NITG 2010 Farmagudi/National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal
National Institute of Technology Karnataka
National Institute of Technology Karnataka , formerly known as Karnataka Regional Engineering College , is an autonomous university along the western shores of India. It was founded in 1960 is today one of the 30 National Institutes of Technology in India and is recognized as an Institute of...

Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

 
Daman & Diu 
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
National Institute of Technology, Pondicherry 2010 NITP 2010 Karaikal
Karaikal
Karaikal is a major port city of east coast of India and a municipality in Karaikal district in the Union Territory of Pondicherry, India. Several explanations are offered for the word 'Karaikal'. The imperial Gazetteer gives it the meaning 'fish pass'. According to Julien vinson the town is said...

/National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli
Pondicherry 
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
National Institute of Technology Delhi 2010 -- 2010 National Institute of Technology, Warangal
National Institute of Technology, Warangal
National Institute of Technology, Warangal is an undergraduate and post graduate engineering institute located in Warangal, India...

Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

 
Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...

National Institute of Technology Uttarakhand 2010 NITU 2010 Pauri
Pauri
Pauri is a city and a municipal board in Pauri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.-Geography:Pauri is located at...

/National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
The National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra , formerly Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, is a public technical university wholly funded by Government of India. In December 2008, it was accredited with the status of Institution of National Importance...

Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

National Institute of Technology Mizoram 2010 -- 2010 Aizawl
Aizawl
Aizawl is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. With a resident population 228,280 , it is the largest city within the state. It is also the center of all important government offices, state assembly house and civil secretariat...

/Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur
Mizoram
Mizoram
Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...

National Institute of Technology Meghalaya
National Institute of Technology Meghalaya
National Institute of Technology Meghalaya is one of the 30 National Institutes of Technology situated in Shillong, Meghalaya. The classes of NIT,Meghalaya were started from 2010 in National Institute of Technology, Surat....

2010 -- 2010 Shillong
Shillong
-Connectivity:Although well connected by road, Shillong has no rail connection and a proper air connection. Umroi Airport exists but has only limited flights.-Roadways:Shillong is well connected by roads with all major north eastern states...

/S V National Institute of Technology, Surat
Meghalaya
Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...

National Institute of Technology Manipur 2010 -- 2010 Lamphelpat
Lamphelpat
Lamphelpat is the district headquarters of Imphal West district in the state of Manipur, India...

/National Institute of Technology, Agartala
National Institute of Technology, Agartala
National Institute of Technology, Agartala was founded as Tripura Engineering College in 1965 and upgraded to NIT in 2006.-History:The College was started with courses in three traditional branches of engineering, namely Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering...

Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...

National Institute of Technology Nagaland
National Institute of Technology Nagaland
National Institute of Technology Nagaland is a higher education technology institute currently located at located at in Silchar, Assam and soon to be relocated to Nagaland, India...

2010 NITN 2010 Dimapur
Dimapur
Dimapur in Nagaland is bounded by Kohima district on the south and east, Karbi Anglong district of Assam on the West, the Karbi Anglong and stretch of Golaghat District of Assam, in the west and the north...

/National Institute of Technology, Silchar
National Institute of Technology, Silchar
National Institute Of Technology Silchar is a higher education institute situated in Silchar, Assam, India. NIT Silchar is one of the National Institutes of Technology and an Institute of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007. It was established in 1967 as a...

Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...

National Institute of Technology Arunachal Pradesh 2010 NITACH 2010 Yupia
Yupia
Yupia is the headquarters of Papum Pare district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Yupia is about 20 km from Itanagar, the state capital....

/National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur
The National Institute of Technology, Durgapur , formerly the Regional Engineering College , Durgapur, was established under an Act of the Parliament of India in 1960 as one of the eight RECs...

Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...

National Institute of Technology Sikkim 2010 -- 2010 Ravangla
Ravangla
Ravangla or Ravongla is a small tourist town situated at an elevation of 7000 ft in South Sikkim district of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is connected by state highway to other major towns in the state and lies between Pelling and Gangtok. It acts as the starting point for the trek to maenam...

/National Institute of Technology, Calicut
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...


Governance

The President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...

 is the "ex officio visitor" and the most powerful person in the NIT organizational structure. The NIT Council works directly under him and includes the minister-in-charge of technical education in Central Government, the Chairmen and the Directors of all the NITs, the Chairman of University Grants Commission (India)
University Grants Commission (India)
The University Grants Commission of India is a statutory organisation set up by Union government in 1956, for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education. It provides recognition for universities in India, and provides funds for government-recognised...

, the Director General of CSIR
CSIR India
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research established in 1942, is an autonomous body and India's largest Research and Development organization, with 39 laboratories and 50 field stations or extension centers spread across the nation, with a collective staff of over 17,000...

, the Directors of other selected central institutions of repute, members of Parliament, Joint Council Secretary of Ministry of Human Resource and Development, nominees of the Central Government, AICTE, and the Visitor.

Below the NIT Council is each NITs Board of Governors. The Director serves under the Board of Governors, and is the school's chief academic and executive officer. Academic policies are decided by its Senate, which is composed of all professors and other representatives. The Senate controls and approves the curriculum, courses, examinations, and results. Senate committees examine specific academic matters. The teaching, training, and research activities of various departments of the institute are periodically reviewed to maintain educational standards. The Director is the ex officio Chairman of the Senate. The Deputy Director is subordinate to the Deputy Director. Together they manage the Deans, Heads of Departments, Registrar, President of the Students' Council, and Chairman of the Hall Management Committee. Deans and Heads of Departments in NITs are administrative postings rather than career paths. Faculty members serve as Deans and Heads of Departments for limited periods, typically 2–3 years, then returning to regular faculty duties. The Registrar is the chief administrative officer and overviews day-to-day operations. Below the Head of Department (HOD), are the various faculty members (professors, assistant professors, and lecturers). The Warden serves under the Chairman of the Hall Management Committee.

The BOG of every individual NIT consists of the following members:
  • Chairman -An Eminent Technologist / Engineer /Industrialist / Educationist to

be nominated by the Govt. of India.
  • Member Secretary- Director of the NIT
  • Nominee of the Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India
  • Nominee of the Department of the Higher / Technical Education of the respective state government
  • Head of another Technical Institution in the region or an eminent Technologist to be

nominated by Central Govt.
  • Director, IIT (in the region) or his nominee
  • Nominee of the UGC not below the rank of a Dy Secretary
  • Nominee of the AICTE not below the rank of an Advisor
  • An Alumnus of the Institute from amongst alumni in Education / Industry to be nominated by Board of

Governors
  • Two representatives representing large, medium and small scale Industries to be nominated by Central Government
  • One Professor and one Assistant Professor of the Institute by rotation

Admissions

Admission to NIT Bachelors degree programs follows a merit list published after the result of the All India Engineering Entrance Examination
All India Engineering Entrance Examination
The All India Engineering Entrance Examination , is an examination organized by the Central Board of Secondary Education in India...

. Applicants are also required to have at a minimum, a pass grade in the class 12 exam or equivalent.

Each NIT takes 50 percent of students from its home state and 50 percent from the rest of India. They implement an affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...

 policy called reservation
Reservation in India
Reservation in India is a form of affirmative action designed to improve the well being of socially backward and underrepresented communities of citizens in India. There are laws in place, wherein a certain percentage of total available slots in Jobs and Education are set aside for people from...

 for the "Other Backward Class
Other Backward Class
The Central Government of India classifies some of its citizens based on their social and economic condition as Scheduled Caste , Scheduled Tribe , and Other Backward Class . The OBC list presented by the commission is dynamic and will change from time to time depending on social, educational and...

es" at 27%, "Scheduled castes" at 15% and Scheduled tribes at 7.5%.

A fixed number of seats is reserved for NRI
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...

 students and foreign nationals.

Admissions policy is changing so that admissions of the non-local half of the student body would be made on the basis of the All India Rank, irrespective of any state seats, A possible future revision would admit all students on a national basis, irrespective of state quotas.

The AIEEE exam was taken by about one and a half million students in April, 2010 making it one of the largest entrance examinations in the world.

Education

Courses are divided into semesters with evaluation on the basis of credits, which allows for proportional weighting based on the course's importance. For each semester, grades range from 0 to 10. Semester evaluations are independently. The weighted average of the semesters is used to compute the cumulative grade point average (CGPA).

Some NITs offer 'Research Scholar' programs to encourage research-oriented thinking in young minds. IIT Kanpur offers a 10-week summer undergraduate research scholar program for its students as well as for sophomore and later NIT students. The program has improved NIT staff quality.

NITs are implementing dual degree programs, integrated postgraduate studies that complete in 5 years rather than the 6 year conventional track of a Bachelor's followed by a Master's degree. These programs encourage academic research, and began with mathematics and computing.

Stringent faculty recruitment and industry collaboration also contribute to NIT success. Faculty other than lecturers must have a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 and relevant teaching and industry experience. Existing faculty who do not meet these criteria enroll under a Quality Improvement Programme (QIP) at IITs and IISc.

Placements

NITs are known for its placements. Placements in NITs have grown significantly and is close to 100% in most of the NITs. Industry prefers NIT students because of the cultural diversity that each NIT enjoys with people coming from all over India. A good number of PSUs recruit students from each NIT.

Student life

NITs provide on-campus housing to students, research scholars, and faculty members. Students live in hostels, also known as halls, throughout their college life. Most have single accommodation but many live in double or triple rooms during their initial years. Every hostel has a recreation room equipped with cable television, magazines, newspapers, and indoor games and in-room Internet connectivity. Every hall has its own cafeteria managed by the college or by a local private organization. NITs also have a common cafeteria for students and a separate cafeteria for professors. During vacations, hostel dining is generally closed and the common cafeterias serve students who stay on campus.

All the NITs have an athletic ground and facilities for field, indoor and aquatic events.

NIT campuses across India arrange official welcome parties and interaction sessions to acquaint newcomers with senior students and professors.
Faculties and researchers from IITs and IISc organize occasional technical seminars and other reputed foreign universities and research labs.

Libraries

NITs have a Central Library equipped with technical books, literature, fiction, scientific journals, and other electronic material.
Most have digitized their libraries. Some provide an intranet library facility. Every departmental library has high-speed connectivity. Electronic libraries allow students access to online journals and other periodicals through the AICTE
All India Council for Technical Education
The All India Council for Technical Education is the statutory body and a national-level council for technical education, under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development...

-INDEST consortium, an initiative by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Students also have access to IEEE documents and journals. While some have video conferencing facilities, others are upgrading under the World Bank funded TEQIP scheme.

Student Government

Some NITs individually conduct elections to elect student body a General Secretary and Vice President. These representatives are generally responsible for communicating with the college management and media, organising festivals, and also for various development programmes in their college. Some NITs (such as SVNIT, Surat and VNIT, Nagpur) have recently adopted online voting process. The committee which monitors the flow of funds has a student body representative. This committee also includes the Chairman of Board, an MHRD Representative, and NIT professors. But due to some disturbance in voting process, there have been no elections since 2008 in SVNIT, Surat.

Disciplinary Committee

The Disciplinary Committee (DISCO) consists of the Director, the student affairs officer, and professors. and reports to MHRD. DISCO regulates student activities and combats student harassment and illegitimate student politics. After a series of harassment incidents, all NITs took strict measures especially to protect first year students.

Extra-curricular activities

Popular extra curricular activities include National Cadet Corps
National Cadet Corps (India)
The National Cadet Corps is the Indian military cadet corps with its Headquarters at New Delhi. It is open to school and college students on voluntary basis....

 (NCC), National Service Scheme
National Service Scheme
National Service Scheme ' is an Indian government-sponsored program under the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. It was started in 1969.-History:...

 (NSS), Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE
ISTE
The International Society for Technology in Education is a nonprofit professional organization with a worldwide membership of leaders and potential leaders in educational technology...

), and annual college festivities.

Students at NITs run hobby clubs such as Linux User Group
Linux User Group
A Linux User Group or Linux Users' Group or GNU/Linux User Group is a private, generally non-profit or not-for-profit organization that provides support and/or education for Linux users, particularly for inexperienced users...

s (LUGs), music clubs, debate clubs, literary clubs, and web design teams. Students also publish campus magazines which showcase student creativity and journalism. Students conduct regular quizzes and cultural programs. They also present research papers and participate in national level technical festivals at NITs, IITs, and IISc. Most NITs promote entrepreneurship by creating on-campus incubation centers
Business incubator
Business incubators are programs designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts...

 under the STEP program.

Students also participate in the activities of Training and Placement Department (TPD) by directly helping the Training and Placement (TnP) officers to boost their college's placement record. In all the NITs, the TPD invites companies for recruitment and arranges amenities for company representatives.

O-INSA

Organization for Inter-NIT Student Activities (O-INSA) coordinates cultural, technical, sports and other groups.

Inter-NIT Sports

NITs compete annually in an Inter-NIT sports meeting, which rotates among schools.
Winners get cash prizes and trophies. Boys and girls compete separately. During February and March, NITs conduct annual sports contests in their respective locations. However, since 2007-2008, Inter NIT meetings have not been held during the academic calendar, to facilitate participation of more NITs and to avoid students missing class. In recent years, NIT Durgapur has been the most successful.

Festivals

NITs conduct technical and cultural festivals to showcase student talents. Technical festivals include research paper presentations, business quizzes and robotics competitions. Some NITs conduct online coding contests, attracting participants from multinational corporations and international universities. NITs also conduct cultural festivals with celebrity and student participants, including those from other schools. Festivals last 3 to 4 days and are usually held in the spring. Corporations and college management help fund these events.

NIT Warangal hosts the second biggest technical festival "Technozion" and cultural festival "Spring spree".

NITK Surathkal hosts the second biggest cultural extravaganza in South India called Incident
Incident, Culfest of NITK Surathkal
Incident is a student cultural festival of the National Instititute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Karnataka, India. The festival is generally held during the even semesters of the academic calendar...

 and also organizes a technical fest, Engineer
Engineer (Technical Fest)
Engineer is an annual technical symposium in India organized by NITK Surathkal. The event was started after the amalgamation of many technical festivals held at NITK by student clubs...

 which claims a participation of around a hundred colleges and is acclaimed as South India's biggest Technical Fest after Shastra of IIT Madras.

NIT Trichy organizes a technical fest called "Pragyan
Pragyan
Pragyan is the annual Science and Technology Festival of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli, India. Since its inception in 2005, it has been held every year over a period of four days during either the month of January or February...

" and one of the biggest cultural festivals in Tamil Nadu called
"Festember
Festember
Festember is the national-level cultural festival of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli. It is held annually in the third week of September when college students from all over India participate in various cultural, literary and artistic events to compete for the coveted...

".

NIT Rourkela organizes the largest techno-management festival in the state of Orissa, named "InnoVision" (formerly "Confluence") and also the spring festival, "Nitrutsav" annually in the month of November and March, respectively.

NIT Agartala conducted two fests, a techfest known as "Aayam" and a cultural fest known as "Mokshaa".

MNIT Jaipur holds "Blitzschlag MNIT Jaipur
Blitzschlag MNIT Jaipur
Blitzschlag is the annual Cultural fest of Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur which is surrounded by controversies. It is a three-day long event held towards the end of January every year and attracts a crowd of 15,000 students from more than 200 colleges all over the country...

", the annual cultural festival, in January. It is known to be the biggest festival in the state of Rajasthan and one of the biggest of all NITs.

VNIT Nagpur conducts "AXIS", the biggest science festival. It also conducts "AAROHI", the largest cultural festival in Central India, started in year 1988. Love4Physics club of VNIT Nagpur organises the only science cum engineering Olympiad in India, "YUDHYA".

NIT Jalandhar annually conducts a national level cultural festival called "UTKANSH" and a technical fest called "TECHNITI".

MNNIT Allahabad hosts the largest knowledge festival, "Gnosiomania". MNNIT's technical festival is called "Avishkar". Its cultural festival is called "Culrav" and is held in February.

NIT Hamirpur annually conducts a national level cultural festival called "Hill 'Ffair" in fall and an engineering festival called "Nimbus" in spring.

NIT Patna's technical and cultural festivals are CORONA and Melange respectively.

NIT Jamshedpur's technical festival generally occurs in March, and is called Ojass, immediately followed by Utkarsh, the cultural festival. Also, the Metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...

 and Materials Science department of the college holds its own festival Technica.

SVNIT, Surat organises "Autumn Fest" combining "Entru-Meet" an entrepreneurial festival, "Autofest", an automobile festival, conducted by SAE and "Quest" and an ACM
ACM
ACM is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* Alkyl acrylate copolymer, a type of rubber commonly found in automotive transmissions and hoses* Arnold-Chiari malformation* Asbestos Containing Material* Association for Computing Machinery...

initiative in the odd semester. In the even semester, it conducts a technical festival named "Mindbend" and a cultural festival called "Sparsh".

NIT Durgapur organises ten festivals each year, the most among NITs. They include Ank, Cinefest
Cinéfest
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, also known as Cinéfest is an annual film festival in Sudbury, Ontario. It is the fourth largest film festival in Canada....

, Verve, Robocity, Mukti, Motor Zundung, Aarohan
Aarohan
Aarohan is the Annual National Techno-Management festival organized by the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, West Bengal, India. Aarohan is organized during even semesters and lasts for four days....

, Recstacy, Conoscenza and Elixier
Elixier
Elixier is a German musical that premiered in 1997 in Leipzig, Germany under the direction of Horst Königstein. The music was written by Tobias Künzel and Wolfgang Lenk , with lyrics by Kati Naumann.-Plot:...

.

NIT Silchar organises Incandescence
Incandescence
Incandescence is the emission of light from a hot body as a result of its temperature. The term derives from the Latin verb incandescere, to glow white....

-The techno-cultural fest. Under its umbrella comes Sankriti the cultural fest and Technoesis the technical. NIT Silchar also organises Bizarcade the biz fest for the budding entrepreneurs of India and Thundermarch, the rock fest.

NIT Calicut conducts two main festivals, Tathva
Tathva
Tathva, the annual techno-management festival, organized by the National Institute of Technology, in Calicut Kerala, India, is organized during odd semesters in the month of October....

, its technical festival and Ragam, its Cultural festival.

Alumni

NIT alumni work in many countries. Many cities host NIT alumni associations. A common PAN-NIT alumni network network is under consideration. This would include the alumni associations of individual institutes and would enable a more complete database.

In most NITs, alumni sponsor scholarship programs for low-income students. NIT alumni either take up key positions in global corporations or work in academia joining institutions of repute in India such as IITs, IISc, IIMs, NITs or abroad such as Stanford, Caltech etc. Further, every year, lot of NIT alumni choose to pursue an education in business management at prestigious institutes such as Indian Institutes of Management
Indian Institutes of Management
The Indian Institutes of Management , are graduate business schools in India. They were set up with the objective of providing management education and to assist the industry through research and consulting services. The IIMs award diplomas and not degrees.- Institutes :Indian Institute of...

, Indian School of Business
Indian School of Business
The Indian School of Business is a business school in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. It offers a Post Graduate Programme in Management , a Fellow Program in Management, and a Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior...

, Xavier Labour Relations Institute etc. in India and the likes of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, Wharton Business School, Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

, Carnegie Mellon and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

 abroad.

Vision 2025

A final draft of a document proposing a "Vision-2025 for NITs" has been circulated to the directors of all the twenty NITs and will be submitted to the Government of India upon their final approval. The Draft Committee Chairman said that the Vision-2025 Document primarily embodied the plan of action, areas of thrust for emerging technologies, and scope of NITs in nation-building.

The draft visualizes greater autonomy for NITs and identifies 16 emerging fields such as food processing, agriculture, healthcare, nanotechnology, and biotechnology as potential focus areas.

The draft proposes a generalized structure for the NIT Council and governance and that the council include senior MHRD officials, eminent educationists, NIT directors and invited renowned scientists and researchers.

The document proposes producing thinking engineers after accepting that despite creating world-class infrastructure, the present system has failed to produce engineers capable of developing new technologies. The draft defines thinking engineers as technically sound, sensitive to national issues and also possessed of the necessary zeal. The draft has a detailed description about the various programs and activities of the institutions during the coming two decades. It also summarizes the activities and projects in the fields of resource management, disaster mitigation, entertainment and lifestyle, computer and IT services, material and processing, as well as technology management.

The need for an intranet
Intranet
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...

 among the NITs was very strongly expressed during the meeting of the directors held at MANIT Bhopal. Hence an intranet (possibly named as NITNET) was conceived. The intranet was expected to nurture research, collaboration and overall academic development. In developed countries, especially the U.S., major colleges and universities share a very high-speed intranet, called Internet2
Internet2
Internet2 is an advanced not-for-profit US networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government....

. Incidentally, the government-owned ERNET network is a member of Internet2. NITs may join this network.

Initially, the NITNET may be implemented as a VPN (Virtual Private Network) through a well-established ISP. For this purpose, the Ministry of Human Resources Department (MHRD) would have to sanction an initial grant of Rs 10 crores, with a recurring charge of Rs 5 lakhs per institute.

Motilal Nehru NIT, Allahabad is constructing a building to commemorate the golden jubilee of the REC/NIT scheme. The building would have a data center and potentially a nodal intranet center. After fine-tuning the specifications, a proposal would be made to all the directors and upon consensus, funds would be requested from MHRD.

External links

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