The IIT colleges in India are among the most prestigious engineering institutions in the world. Established under the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, the Indian Institutes of Technology are designated as Institutes of National Importance by the Government of India. Governed by the Ministry of Education and overseen by the IIT Council, chaired by the Minister of Education, these institutions set the global benchmark for engineering, science, and technology education. This guide covers everything about the top IIT colleges in India complete list, NIRF rankings, history, admission, fees, placements, and campus life.
There are currently 23 IIT colleges in India, all functioning under the Institutes of Technology Act and funded by the central government. The total IIT colleges in India span 23 cities, with two additional overseas campuses one in Zanzibar, Tanzania (a satellite campus of IIT Madras, launched in 2023) and one in the UAE. The combined budget allocation for all IITs in FY2026–27 is approximately ₹12,123 crore (about USD 1.34 billion).
| S.No | IIT | Abbreviation | Founded | State/UT | Faculty | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIT Kharagpur | IITKGP | 1951 | West Bengal | 928 | 15,862 |
| 2 | IIT Bombay | IITB | 1958 | Maharashtra | 759 | 12,976 |
| 3 | IIT Madras | IITM | 1959 | Tamil Nadu | 674 | 10,238 |
| 4 | IIT Kanpur | IITK | 1959 | Uttar Pradesh | 655 | 8,346 |
| 5 | IIT Delhi | IITD | 1961 | Delhi | 687 | 12,543 |
| 6 | IIT Guwahati | IITG | 1994 | Assam | 539 | 7,849 |
| 7 | IIT Roorkee | IITR | 1847/2002 | Uttarakhand | 585 | 9,735 |
| 8 | IIT Jodhpur | IITJ | 2008 | Rajasthan | 238 | 3,308 |
| 9 | IIT Ropar | IITRPR | 2008 | Punjab | 179 | 2,768 |
| 10 | IIT Gandhinagar | IITGN | 2008 | Gujarat | 143 | 2,010 |
| 11 | IIT Hyderabad | IITH | 2008 | Telangana | 306 | 3,946 |
| 12 | IIT Patna | IITP | 2008 | Bihar | 166 | 2,883 |
| 13 | IIT Bhubaneswar | IITBBS | 2008 | Odisha | 178 | 2,597 |
| 14 | IIT Mandi | IITMD | 2009 | Himachal Pradesh | 197 | 2,343 |
| 15 | IIT Indore | IITI | 2009 | Madhya Pradesh | 204 | 2,323 |
| 16 | IIT (BHU) Varanasi | IITBHU | 1919/2012 | Uttar Pradesh | 381 | 7,980 |
| 17 | IIT Palakkad | IITPKD | 2015 | Kerala | 127 | 1,370 |
| 18 | IIT Tirupati | IITT | 2015 | Andhra Pradesh | 119 | 1,168 |
| 19 | IIT (ISM) Dhanbad | IITISM | 1926/2016 | Jharkhand | 414 | 6,660 |
| 20 | IIT Bhilai | IITBH | 2016 | Chhattisgarh | 71 | 806 |
| 21 | IIT Dharwad | IITDH | 2016 | Karnataka | 86 | 866 |
| 22 | IIT Jammu | IITJMU | 2016 | Jammu & Kashmir | 116 | 1,178 |
| 23 | IIT Goa | IITGOA | 2016 | Goa | 68 | 73 |
Understanding the history behind IIT colleges in India adds important context to their prestige and scale today.
1940s: The Sarkar Committee: In the late 1940s, a 22-member committee led by Nalini Ranjan Sarkar recommended establishing engineering institutions across India modelled on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. This became the founding vision for what we now know as IITs.
1950–1951: First IIT: The first IIT college in India was established in May 1950 at the site of the Hijli Detention Camp in Kharagpur, West Bengal. It was formally inaugurated on 18 August 1951 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. On 15 September 1956, Parliament declared it an Institute of National Importance. At its first convocation in 1956, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru called it "a fine monument of India, representing India's urges, India's future in the making."
1958–1961: The Original Five: Based on the Sarkar Committee recommendations, four more IITs were established: IIT Bombay (1958), IIT Madras (1959), IIT Kanpur (1959), and IIT Delhi (1961): strategically distributed across the country to prevent regional imbalance.
1994: IIT Guwahati: Student agitations in Assam led Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to promise a new IIT in the state, resulting in IIT Guwahati being established under the Assam Accord in 1994.
2001–2003: IIT Roorkee: The University of Roorkee: one of Asia's oldest technical institutions founded in 1847: was converted into IIT Roorkee in 2001. In 2003, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced plans to create more IITs by upgrading promising existing institutions.
2008–2009: Eight New IITs: Eight new IIT colleges were set up in Gandhinagar, Jodhpur, Hyderabad, Indore, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Ropar, and Mandi as part of the 11th Five Year Plan.
2012: IIT (BHU) Varanasi: The Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University: originally founded in 1919: was formally converted into IIT (BHU) Varanasi in 2012 after decades of discussions dating back to 1972.
2015–2016: Six More IITs: IITs in Tirupati, Palakkad, Dharwad, Bhilai, Goa, and Jammu were established, along with the conversion of Indian School of Mines Dhanbad into IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, bringing the total IIT colleges in India to 23.
2023: First Overseas Campus: India's first foreign IIT campus was announced in Zanzibar, Tanzania as a satellite campus of IIT Madras, marking a historic internationalisation of Indian higher education.
The NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework), published by the Ministry of Education, ranks institutions on Teaching & Learning, Research, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach, and Perception. Here are the top 10 IIT colleges in India rank wise for 2025:
| NIRF Rank 2025 | IIT | NIRF 2024 | NIRF 2023 | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIT Madras | 1 | 1 | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| 2 | IIT Delhi | 2 | 2 | New Delhi |
| 3 | IIT Bombay | 3 | 3 | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| 4 | IIT Kanpur | 4 | 4 | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
| 5 | IIT Kharagpur | 5 | 6 | West Bengal |
| 6 | IIT Roorkee | 6 | 5 | Uttarakhand |
| 7 | IIT Hyderabad | 8 | 8 | Telangana |
| 8 | IIT Guwahati | 7 | 7 | Assam |
| 10 | IIT (BHU) Varanasi | 10 | 15 | Uttar Pradesh |
| 12 | IIT Indore | 16 | 14 | Madhya Pradesh |
In the 2025 NIRF rankings, IITs dominate across all categories: holding 9 of the top 10 spots in Engineering, 8 of 10 in Innovation, 7 of 10 in Research, and 6 of 10 in the Overall category.
IIT Madras is the undisputed top 1 IIT college in India, ranked #1 by NIRF for ten consecutive years in the Engineering category and seven consecutive years in the Overall category. It leads in research output, innovation, industry collaboration, and placements (average package: INR 37.5 LPA). IIT Madras is also home to India's first and largest on-campus research park.
| Rank | IIT | Known For | Avg. Package |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIT Madras | Research, Innovation, Placements | INR 37.5 LPA |
| 2 | IIT Delhi | International Industry Links, Policy | INR 20 LPA |
| 3 | IIT Bombay | Entrepreneurship, Startup Culture | INR 18 LPA |
| 4 | IIT Kanpur | CSE Pioneer, Aerospace | INR 19.4 LPA |
| 5 | IIT Kharagpur | Oldest IIT, Largest Campus | INR 19.7 LPA |
The best IIT colleges in India are also globally ranked. In the 2026 QS World University Rankings:
| IIT | QS World Rank 2026 | QS Engineering Rank 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| IIT Delhi | 123 | 26 |
| IIT Bombay | 129 | 28 |
| IIT Madras | 180 | 53 |
| IIT Kharagpur | 215 | 60 |
| IIT Kanpur | 222 | 72 |
| IIT Roorkee | 394 | 131 |
| IIT Guwahati | 439 | 140 |
Five IITs are ranked within the Top 100 globally in QS Engineering rankings, making them genuinely world-class institutions.
All 23 IITs are centrally funded government IIT colleges in India. The table below covers the top 10:
| IIT | NIRF 2025 | BTech Seats | MTech Seats | Total BTech Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIT Madras | 1 | 886 | 874 | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT Delhi | 2 | 1,179 | 1,549 | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT Bombay | 3 | 1,461 | 1,031 | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT Kanpur | 4 | 929 | - | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT Kharagpur | 5 | 2,942 | 2,880 | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT Roorkee | 6 | - | - | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT Hyderabad | 7 | - | - | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT Guwahati | 8 | - | - | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT (BHU) Varanasi | 10 | - | - | INR 8 Lakh |
| IIT Indore | 12 | - | - | INR 8 Lakh |
The government subsidises undergraduate fees by approximately 80%, and all MTech and PhD students receive scholarships. The annual cost borne by undergraduate students is around ₹2.8 lakh per year. SC/ST, OBC, female, and differently-abled students are entitled to additional fee waivers and scholarships. The faculty-to-student ratio across IITs is maintained between 1:6 and 1:8, well above the SCIC prescribed minimum of 1:9.
Latest Update: JEE Main 2026 Session 2 is scheduled from April 2 to April 9, 2026.
| Programme | Eligibility | Entrance Exam |
|---|---|---|
| BTech/BS/ Dual Degree | Class 12 with 75% aggregate | JEE Main + JEE Advanced |
| BDes | Class 12 from recognised board | UCEED |
| MTech / MTech+PhD | BE/BTech or equivalent | GATE |
| MDes | Degree/diploma, min. 3 yrs after | CEED |
| MSc/MSc+PhD | MSc in relevant science discipline | IIT JAM |
JEE Advanced is widely considered one of the hardest entrance examinations in the world. As co-founder of Sun Microsystems Vinod Khosla once noted in a CBS documentary, IITs are "probably the hardest schools in the world to get into." Approximately 95% of successful JEE Advanced candidates have attended coaching classes. The exam is currently conducted in English and Hindi only.
Reservation Policy: Around 50% of seats are reserved for SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS categories, 20% for female students, 5% for students with benchmark disability, and 10% of general category seats are reserved for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
Here are all three programme categories in clean tables:
| Programme | Abbreviation | Duration | Mode of Admission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Technology | BTech | 4 Years | JEE Main + JEE Advanced |
| Bachelor of Science | BS | 4 Years | JEE Main + JEE Advanced |
| Dual Degree (BTech + MTech) | BTech + MTech | 5 Years | JEE Main + JEE Advanced |
| Dual Degree (BS + MS) | BS+MS | 5 Years | JEE Main + JEE Advanced |
| Bachelor of Architecture | BArch | 5 Years | JEE Main + JEE Advanced |
| Bachelor of Design | BDes | 4 Years | UCEED |
| Programme | Abbreviation | Duration | Mode of Admission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master of Technology | MSc | 2 Years | IIT JAM |
| Master of Science | MSc | 2 Years | IIT JAM |
| Dual Degree (MSc + PhD) | BTech + MTech | 5 Years | IIT JAM |
| Master of Design | MDes | 2 Years | CEED |
| Master of Business Administration | MBA | 2 Years | CAT |
| Master of Arts | MA | 2 Years | Varies by IIT |
| Joint MSc-PhD | MSc-PhD | 5 Years | IIT JAM / GATE |
| Doctor of Philosophy | PhD | 3-5 Years | GATE / Interview |
| Programme | Abbreviation | Type | Offered At |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master's in Medical Science and Technology | MMST | Masters | Select IITs |
| Master of City Planning | MCP | Masters | Select IITs |
| PG Diploma in Information Technology | PGDIT | PG Diploma | Select IITs |
| PG Diploma in Intellectual Property Law | PGDIPL | PG Diploma | Select IITs |
| PG Diploma in Maritime Operation & Management | PGDMOM | PG Diploma | Select IITs |
Note: Programme availability, duration, and admission criteria may vary across IITs. Always verify with the official website of the respective IIT before applying.
Some IITs, including IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Hyderabad, and IIT Gandhinagar, also offer double major degrees, undergraduate minors, and honours programmes, allowing students to graduate with expertise across multiple disciplines.
Top IIT colleges in India attract global recruiters including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Adobe, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey. Average packages across top IITs range from INR 17 LPA to INR 37.5 LPA.
| IIT | Average Annual Package |
|---|---|
| IIT Madras | INR 37.5 LPA |
| IIT Delhi | INR 20 LPA |
| IIT Kharagpur | INR 19.7 LPA |
| IIT Kanpur | INR 19.4 LPA |
| IIT Bombay | INR 18 LPA |
| IIT Roorkee | INR 17 LPA |
Note: According to RTI data, approximately 38% of IIT graduates from the class of 2024 did not secure placements through campus drives: the highest in three years. Many of these students pursue higher education, government roles, or entrepreneurship rather than campus placements.
All IITs provide on-campus residential facilities for students, research scholars, and faculty. Campus life is rich with:
Sports: Basketball, cricket, football, hockey, volleyball, tennis, badminton, swimming, and the annual Inter IIT Sports Meet across all 23 IITs
Technical Festivals: Techfest (IIT Bombay, UNESCO patronage), Shaastra (IIT Madras, ISO 9001 certified), Kshitij (IIT Kharagpur), Techkriti (IIT Kanpur), Tryst (IIT Delhi), and more
Cultural Festivals: Mood Indigo (IIT Bombay), Saarang (IIT Madras), Spring Fest (IIT Kharagpur), Antaragni (IIT Kanpur), Rendezvous (IIT Delhi), Alcheringa (IIT Guwahati), and more
NCC / NSS / NSO: All first-year students must participate in one of these three national programmes
| Goal | Best IIT College |
|---|---|
| Best Overall (NIRF) | IIT Madras |
| Best for Placements | IIT Madras |
| Best for Entrepreneurship | IIT Bombay |
| Best for CSE | IIT Delhi / IIT Madras |
| Best for Research | IIT Madras |
| Best Global Ranking (QS) | IIT Delhi (Rank 123) |
| Best for Largest Campus | IIT Kharagpur |
| Best for Oldest Legacy | IIT Kharagpur (1951) |
| Best ROI | IIT (BHU) Varanasi |
| Best for International Exposure | IIT Delhi |