About Top NITs Colleges In India

The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are the central government-owned-public technical institutes under the ownership of Ministry of Education, Government of India. They are governed by the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007, which declared them as institutions of national importance and lays down their powers, duties, and framework for governance. The act lists thirty-one NITs. Each NIT is autonomous, linked to the others through a common council known as the Council of NITSER, which oversees their administration and all NITs are funded by the Government of India.

In 2020, National Institutional Ranking Framework ranked twenty four NITs in the top 200 in engineering category. The language of instruction is English at all these institutes. As of 2022, the total number of seats for undergraduate programs is 23,997 and for postgraduate programs 13,664 in all the 31 NITs put together.

History

During the second five-year plan (1956–60) in India, a number of industrial projects were contemplated. The Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) were established by the central government to mimic the IITs at a regional level and act as benchmarks for the other colleges in that state. The admission used to be highly selective. Students topping the respective state's 12th board exam could be admitted at the REC of their state. Thus, 17 RECs were established from 1959 onwards in each of the major states. Each college was a joint and cooperative enterprise of the central government and the concerned state government. The government opened 9 RECs in 1960, 2 on average in each region, as follows:

Later on, 6 more were added by 1967. The early 15 institutes were Srinagar, Warangal, Calicut, Durgapur, Kurukshetra, Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Nagpur, Rourkela, Surathkal, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Bhopal, Allahabad, and Silchar. It established 2 more, one in Hamirpur in 1986, and another in Jalandhar in 1987.

These were large-sized institutions judged by the standards then prevailing in the country. The considerations that weighed in this decision were:

A large-sized college would be more efficient than the equivalent small colleges, the proposed colleges have to meet the additional requirements of the country as a whole and for that purpose should have to function on an all-India basis. Therefore, the smaller they are in number and the larger in size, the better, and for the same reason their location is important from an all-India point of view.

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. They were considered to be the best government engineering colleges after the IITs in India even before their upgrade to National Institutes of Technology.

The success of the 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 (IITs), in 2002 Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Minister Murli Manohar Joshi decided to upgrade RECs to "National Institutes of Technology" (NITs) instead of creating IITs. The central government controls NITs and provides all funding. In 2002, all RECs became NITs.

The upgrade was designed along the lines of the 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 and that they were on par with the IITs. Subsequently, funding and autonomy for NITs increased, and they award degrees that have raised their graduates' perceived value. These changes implemented recommendations of the "High Powered Review Committee" (HPRC). The HPRC, chaired by R. A. Mashelkar, submitted its report entitled "Strategic Road Map for Academic Excellence of Future RECs" in 1998.

By 2006, MHRD issued NIT status to 3 more colleges, located at Patna (Bihar Engineering College, a 110-year-old college), Raipur (Government Engineering College, Raipur), and Agartala (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. In 2010, the government announced setting up ten more new NITs in the remaining states/territories, leading to a total of 30 NITs. This would lead to every state in India having its own NIT.

With the technology-based 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. The law designates each NIT an Institute of National Importance (INI).

The Parliament of India on 1 August 2016 passed a bill to establish the 31st as well as the newest NIT, NIT Andhra Pradesh, on a day members of parliament of the ruling Telugu Desam Party from the state staged a protest to demand special category status. The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by Rajya Sabha by voice vote. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha on 21 July 2016.

Organisational structure

Organisational structure of the NITs

The President of India is the ex officio visitor of all the NITs. The NIT Council works directly under him and it 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 (UGC), the Director-General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Directors of other selected central institutions of repute, members of Parliament, Joint Council Secretary of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), nominees of the Central Government, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the Visitor.

Below the NIT Council is each NIT's Board of Governors. The Board of Governors of each NIT consists of the following members:

• Chairman - an eminent technologist / engineer / educationist to be nominated by the Government of India.
• Member Secretary - Director of the NIT.
• Nominee of the MHRD, Government 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 Deputy 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.

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 some 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 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 to 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.

List of NITs in India 2023

By the time, NIT Rankings 2023 (NIRF) are released, candidates can check the NIT Rankings for the year 2022 as per NIRF India Rankings that are released by the Ministryof Education. You can go through these NIT rankings and select the best NIT in India accordingly. You can find the NIT colleges in India in the table below. 

NITs Colleges in India 2023

Are you are searching the NIT list for 2023? The table below highlights the top NIT in India 2023 along with their NIT rankings as per NIRF for the years 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019. 

Specialisations Offered by NIT Colleges in India

There are various specializations of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees available in the best NITs in India. Engineering programs such as BTech and MTech are available in the top NIT in India and are the most popular undergraduate engineering programs provided by NITs. While  MTech and MBA are the most popular postgraduate programs. Candidates can check some of the most popular engineering specializations offered by the NIT colleges in India given below. 

NITs are considered to be at par with most IITs as they promise a great campus life, and brand value along with great placement opportunities. NITs are known for promoting regional diversity and multicultural understanding across the country. Therefore, in every NIT in India, 50% of the population in each batch is drawn from the respective state and the other 50% is drawn from the rest of India on the basis of a common merit list.

Types of Degrees Offered in NIT Colleges in India

After the IITs, the NITs are India's most prestigious engineering institutes. NIT in India offers a variety of undergraduate, postgraduate, and dual degree programs that candidates can pursue.  In addition, NITs also offer 5-year dual degree programs in a variety of subjects. There are three NITs in India that offer MBA or BBA programs too  NIT Allahabad, NIT Trichy, and NIT Rourkela. Only a few NITs offer 5-year BArch and 4-year BSc degrees.

Entrance Exam for NIT Admission

To take admitted to the NIT colleges in India, candidates must pass entrance exams. The NIT entrance exams are different for bachelor's and master's degrees. Candidates for BTech courses are accepted through the JEE Main 2023 exam which is conducted every year. The syllabus for JEE Main exam is prepared on the basis of CBSE Class 12 Syllabus. The following are the most popular NIT entrance exams approved for admission to various academic disciplines. 

If the students want to prepare well for JEE Main exam to get into NITs, they should also go through the  CBSE Class 12 Previous Year Question Papers to understand what kind of questions can be asked in the exam.

JoSAA 2023 Total No. of Seats in NITs

JoSAA publishes category and round-based opening and closing ranks and cutoffs for admission to NITs bachelor, master and dual degree programs. Candidates must register themselves and take part in the JoSAA counselling and seat allocation procedure. For candidates who pass both the JEE Main and JEE Advanced exams, JoSAA holds a combined counselling session. The JoSAA 2023 counselling a total number of seats for the NIT in India will be released by the authorities. Till the, candidates can check the expected JoSAA total no. of seats information available here.

NIT Cutoffs 2023

The cutoffs are the minimum marks that candidates need to secure for getting admission into NITs. The admission cutoffs are usually released by JoSAA on behalf of the colleges that are participating in the counseling process. 

NIT Rankings 2022

As per the 2022 NIT rankings, NIRF has chosen the top engineering colleges category. Some of the parameters of ranking which are broadly covered are:

• Teaching, Learning and Resources
• Research and Professional Practices
• Graduation Outcomes
• Perception

The latest ranks for all 31 NITs in India are as follows:

Advantages Of Studying In NIT Colleges

There are several advantages of pursuing different engineering courses in top NIT colleges in India. They are as follows:

• The level of competition and the campus culture in the top NITs are quite similar to that of IITs. They are far better than most of the private engineering institutes.

• The NIT colleges in India also have placement statistics similar to that of the IITs.

• The cost of higher education in NITs is comparatively cheaper than most private engineering institutes.

• Based on the merit of students, scholarships are also awarded to them.
• The grading system is designed in such a way that it will enable students to score better grades in the exams. The performance pressure and expectations are also lower, which is very helpful for students overall well-being.

Keep exploring the BYJU’S website to get the latest updates about NIT colleges in India  and also  know about JEE Main Eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus and more.