How many IITs are there in India? Rankings, Courses, Eligibility and More
IITs are the leading institutions in India for undergraduate technical education. They have quite huge popularity in India as well as abroad. A lot of students who want to pursue technical education try to get a seat in IITs, either at the undergraduate level or at the postgraduate level. To get admission into IITs at the undergraduate level (B.Tech), aspirants need to clear JEE Advanced, and for the postgraduate level (M.Tech), students need to clear GATE. However, in this blog post, we would keep our focus on postgraduate technical courses like M.Tech and MS. We would also see “how many IITs are there in India,” their rankings in 2025, courses offered by IITs at the postgraduate level, and much more. This blog by MADE EASY would serve as a guide for all the aspirants who want to know more about IITs and their eligibility.
What are IITs and why they are important?
IITs are the top technical institutions of the country. The first technical institute of India was established in 1847 in Roorkee, by the name of Thomson College of Engineering, which was subsequently named the University of Roorkee and granted the status of IIT in 2001. IITs were established to make India self-reliant in the field of technical education and to create highly trained technical personnel to support India’s development as an independent nation. The first IIT was IIT Kharagpur, which was established in the year 1951 in West Bengal. Later, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, and IIT Guwahati were set up in the years 1958, 1959, 1959, 1961, and 1995, respectively.
After these, many more IITs were set up in the subsequent years. The current number of IITs in India is 23. All the IITs are designated as “Institutions of National Importance.”
Popularity of IITs
The popularity of IITs can be guessed by the statement that the CEOs of top companies like Google, IBM, Zomato, etc., are IIT alumni. Other than this, IIT alumni are working at top positions in many international companies. However, IITs are not famous for this; what makes IIT special is their admission process, their world-class education, their faculties, their focus on research and innovation, etc.
Importance of IITs
When the first IIT was established, it was aimed to strengthen the technical capabilities of independent India. It also aimed to produce engineering graduates who have strong technical and analytical skills so that they can help in development of country.
Let us have a look at why IITs are important and what their role is in the development of India.
- World-Class Education: IITs provide world-class education along with a rigorous curriculum and excellent faculties. These institutions are known for producing B.Tech graduates having strong technical and analytical skills.
- World Recognition: IITs are highly respected at global stages. A bachelor’s degree from IIT is highly valued internationally.
- Innovation and Research: IITs contribute a lot in development of India by research and development. Experienced faculties, professors, research members continuously research on various science and tech related topics.
- Support for entrepreneurships: Many IITs have incubation centres where they provide strong support to students and faculty led ventures and start-ups. These centres offers funding, mentorship and other resources to students and their start-ups.
- Nation Building: IITs have produced many technocrats, bureaucrats, CEOs, founders of many companies, ministers, scientists, actors, and a lot more who contributed to the growth of India significantly.
- Strong Alumni Network: Alumnus of IITs are mostly in every field and they are excelling in their fields weather it is acting, leading a company, founding a new ventures, policy making, or any other field. IIT alumnus are in every field. This is all because of the exposure that IIT provides to its students.
- Merit based admission: IITs are famous for their merit based admission system. Those who want to join undergraduate engineering course, must have to clear JEE Advanced while those looking to pursue postgraduate in engineering streams must score good rank in GATE. This makes sure that only deserving candidates get admission into these premier institutions.
Total Number of IITs
As of in 2025, there are total of 23 IITs in India. In the table given below we are providing a list of IITs in India along with their location, year of establishment and NIRF rankings.
| S.No | Name of IIT | Location | Year of Establishment | NIRF ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | IIT Kharagpur | West Bengal | 1951 | 5 |
| 2. | IIT Bombay | Maharashtra | 1958 | 3 |
| 3. | IIT Kanpur | Uttar Pradesh | 1959 | 4 |
| 4. | IIT Madras | Tamil Nadu | 1959 | 1 |
| 5. | IIT Delhi | New Delhi | 1961 | 2 |
| 6. | IIT Guwahati | Assam | 1995 | 7 |
| 7. | IIT Roorkee | Uttrakhand | 2002 | 6 |
| 8. | IIT Jodhpur | Rajasthan | 2008 | 28 |
| 9. | IIT Roopar | Punjab | 2008 | 22 |
| 10. | IIT Gandhinagar | Gujarat | 2008 | 18 |
| 11. | IIT Hyderabad | Telangana | 2008 | 8 |
| 12. | IIT Patna | Bihar | 2008 | 34 |
| 13. | IIT Bhubaneshwar | Odisha | 2008 | 54 |
| 14. | IIT Mandi | Himachal Pradesh | 2009 | 31 |
| 15. | IIT Indore | Madhya Pradesh | 2009 | 16 |
| 16. | IIT BHU | Uttar Pradesh | 1919 | 10 |
| 17. | IIT-Palakkad | Kerala | 2015 | 64 |
| 18. | IIT Tirupati | Andhra Pradesh | 2015 | 61 |
| 19. | IIT Dhanbad | Jharkhand | 1926 | 15 |
| 20. | IIT Bhilai | Chhattisgarh | 2016 | 73 |
| 21. | IIT Dharwad | Karnataka | 2016 | _ |
| 22. | IIT Jammu | Jammu and Kashmir | 2016 | 62 |
| 23. | IIT Goa | Goa | 2016 | _ |
Popular courses at IITs
Apart from engineering, IITs offer many courses. In the table below we are providing a list of courses which IITs offer along with the entrance exams.
| Name of Course | Entrance Exam |
|---|---|
| B.Tech | JEE Advanced |
| M.Tech | GATE |
| B.Tech+M.Tech | JEE Advanced |
| B.Arch | Architecture Aptitude Test |
| BS | JEE Advanced |
| BS+MS | JEE Advanced |
| B. Des. | UCEED |
| M.Sc | IIT-JAM |
| Joint M.Tech/MCP-PhD | GATE |
| M.Des | CEED |
| MBA | CAT |
| M.Sc+PhD | IIT-JAM |
| PhD | UGC NET/JRF or GATE |
Admissions in IITs
As said above, IITs offers multiple courses at multiple stages to students. The admission criteria for every course are different; however, here we will keep our discussion around M.Tech admission.
For admission to M.Tech courses in IITs, students need to clear GATE with a good score along with 60% marks in an undergraduate engineering course; however, the percentage criteria can vary from institute to institute. After that, aspirants need to appear for counselling. After getting shortlisted for counselling, candidates would have to appear for an interview before final selection in their desired course and desired IITs.
How MADE EASY support IIT Aspirants
MADE EASY offers multiple courses for students who are preparing for GATE. These courses help students to clear GATE with a good score and make them eligible to appear for interviews in IITs for different courses.
MADE EASY offers offline as well as online classes for students preparing for GATE, ESE, and PSUs. For more details about courses, students can visit the official website of MADE EASY at https://www.madeeasy.in/.
Not only courses, but MADE EASY also offers test series, counselling sessions, guidance sessions from IIT alumni, and many more.
FAQs – Indian Institutes of Technology
How many IITs are there in India in 2025?
Answer: As of 2025, there are 23 IITs in India.
Which is the No.1 IIT in India as per NIRF Ranking?
Answer: As of 2025, IIT Madras is ranked 1 in NIRF rankings.
What is the GATE cutoff for M.Tech in IITs?
Answer: The cutoff marks for M.Tech admissions in IITs varies year to year and course to course.
Are IITs better than private engineering colleges?
Answer: Yes, IITs are better than private engineering colleges.
Can diploma holders join IITs?
Answer: Yes, diploma holder can join IITs. A diploma holding candidate have to join B.Tech program through lateral entry. After completion of B.Tech he/she can appear in GATE and join IITs.
