A question that may stick in the mind of every student undergoing the 12th standard is that - which is better IIT or NIT?
Every Indian Student who wants to pursue his/her Graduation or Post Graduation from Top Reputed Institutes must have gone through this thought at least once in a lifetime.
Well, this blog is about the differences between IIT and NIT, which can be measured based on many crucial factors such as – Education Standards, Hostels, Extra-Curricular, Sports, Culture, Infrastructure, Placements etc.
Both the Institutes are well-known for their outstanding standards of studies. IITs and NITs have paid off a great contribution in raising the structure of education in India.
Former Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru had the vision to develop India as a leader in Science & Technology. He led to the establishment of 14 RECs (Rural Engineering Colleges) which later known as NITs. In 2003, these RECs were upgraded into NITs under the leadership of Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi.
Currently, there are 23 IITs and 31 NITs in the Country. These IITs & NITs contribute to the growth of India in the field of Science & Technology.
Must Read – List of Top Engineering Colleges in India.
Let’s find out the major difference between IIT and NIT!
Difference between IIT and NIT | Know Which is Better?
There are number of aspects which may be considered while showing the difference between IIT and NIT, but below, we’ve mentioned only the important ones. Let’s read out the entire blog & find out which institute is better than the other one.
IIT vs NIT (Difference – 1): Total Number of Institutes
In India, there are 23 IITs & 31 NITs which means NITs are spread in more cities than IITs. Less number of IITs offer fewer opportunities to the aspirants so they might prefer NITs instead.
Here is the complete list of IITs & NITs.
| S. No. | Indian Institutes of Technology | National Institutes of Technology |
| 1. | IIT Kharagpur | National Institute of Technology, Agartala |
| 2. | IIT Mumbai | Motilal NIT Allahabad |
| 3. | IIT Kanpur | Maulana Azad NIT Bhopal |
| 4. | IIT Madras | NIT Calicut |
| 5. | IIT Delhi | NIT Durgapur |
| 6. | IIT Guwahati | NIT Hamirpur |
| 7. | IIT Roorkee | Malaviya NIT Jaipur |
| 8. | IIT Bhubaneswar | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar NIT Jalandhar |
| 9. | IIT Gandhinagar | NIT Jamshedpur |
| 10. | IIT Hyderabad | NIT Kurukshetra |
| 11. | IIT Jodhpur | Visvesvaraya NIT Nagpur |
| 12. | IIT Patna | NIT Patna |
| 13. | IIT Ropar | NIT Raipur |
| 14. | IIT Indore | NIT Rourkela |
| 15. | IIT Mandi | NIT Silchar |
| 16. | IIT (BHU) Varanasi | NIT Srinagar |
| 17. | IIT Palakkad | S V NIT Surat |
| 18. | IIT Tirupati | NIT Karnataka, Surathkal |
| 19. | IIT Dhanbad | NIT Tadepalligudem |
| 20. | IIT Bhilai | NIT Trichy |
| 21. | IIT Goa | NIT Warangal |
| 22. | IIT Jammu | NIT Arunachal Pradesh |
| 23. | IIT Dharwad | NIT Sikkim |
| 24. | - | NIT Goa |
| 25. | - | NIT Meghalaya |
| 26. | - | NIT Nagaland |
| 27. | - | NIT Manipur |
| 28. | - | NIT Mizoram |
| 29. | - | NIT Uttarakhand |
| 30. | - | NIT Delhi |
| 31. | - | NIT Pondicherry |
IIT vs NIT (Difference – 2): Admission Criteria
If we talk about Engineering Admissions, then there were two separate entrance exams for getting admissions into NITs & IITs. These two exams were – AIEEE & IIT JEE respectively.
Now, the authorities have modified these exams into IIT JEE Mains & JEE Advanced Exam.
The candidates who qualify JEE Mains will be eligible for NITs but not for IITs. To become eligible for taking admission into IITs, they must also qualify JEE Advanced.
Well, this was about Engineering & Architecture admissions. If seeking the admissions in IITs for Post-Graduation Courses such as M.Sc., candidates must know About IIT JAM. This exam is designed for highly skilled people who want to pursue M.Sc. from IITs or NITs.
Regarding Admissions in NITs & IITs, the major difference we can see in JAM Exam that the candidates who don’t get admission in IITs through JAM Counselling must apply for CCMN Counselling to reserve their seats in NITs.
IIT vs NIT (Difference - 3): Educational Standard & Courses Offered
It is obvious to say that the educational standards of IITs are far better than NITs as they cover a course from scratch to the end.
The outstanding Teachers of IITs have different & innovative teaching styles that benefit candidates with an extremely new and interesting version of learning.
As far as the difference between IIT and NIT in terms of Educational Programs is concerned, both stand at the same position. After the completion of the first year, it is mandatory for every student of both the Institutes to undertake a course from other departments like - Humanities, Social Sciences & Management.
Difference between IIT and NIT can be counted in every aspect even if we talk about the subjects & courses offered by these institutes, you can see which one holds your desired subject.
Let’s have a look at the list of courses offered by the NITs & IITs
| Degree Type | IIT Courses | NIT Courses |
| Under Graduate | B-Tech | B-Tech |
| Dual Degree M.Sc. | Dual Degree Integrated Courses | |
| Dual Degree MA | BA | |
| B.Sc. | ||
| B-Arch | B-Arch | |
| Post Graduate | M-Tech | M-Tech |
| MBA | MBA | |
| M.Sc. | M.Sc. | |
| M-Arch | M-Arch | |
| MS | MS | |
| Master of Design | MCA | |
| Post Graduate Diploma in Information and Technology (PGDIT) | - | |
| Master in Medical Science & Technology (MMST) | - | |
| Post Graduate Diploma (PGDIPL) | - | |
| Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Operation & Management (PGDMOM) | - | |
| Doctorate | PhD | PhD |
Check out – Career Scope after M.Sc. from IITs & NITs.
IIT vs NIT (Difference - 4): Infrastructure & Facilities
The infrastructures of IITs are wider & equipped with latest technologies. Their outstanding Classrooms & Practical Labs are enough to show how technically advanced all these IITs are!
IITs also keep many prototype models from the invention of famous Scientists. Like IIT Kanpur has Van Dee Graff Generator, which is invented by Robert Jemison Van de Graaff.
National Institutes of Technology are also equipped with many facilities that are quite updated but in comparison to Indian Institutes of Technology, the infrastructure of NITs is still in the development phase
IIT vs NIT (Difference - 5): Extra Curricular Activities
The Competition in IITs for Extra Curriculars is merely comparable to NITs.
How amazing it is that IITs & NITs both conduct the Hostel Competitions every year under the categories of Sports & Many Other Extra Curriculars! It’s really a wonderful opportunity for skilled students to contribute in such activities & showcase their best talent.
Hostels have their own bands, dance groups, sports teams, drama teams & what not!
They, as a team, practice so hard & participate in the activities with great enthusiasm. Winning or losing doesn’t hold their aim, they only seek to enjoy & learn new experiences from each of these activities.
Clubs in IITs are more active and they have one or two representatives for each cultural committee from every hostel. Summing up to 10 students from each hostel, around 130 students contribute their time & skills in the Extra Curricular Activities such as –
Drama
Dance
Literature Club
Music
Quizzing
Hindi Samiti
Student Welfare
IIT vs NIT (Difference - 6): Sports & Culture Fests
Both the Institutes encourage Sports Activity as an essential one! In results, they unleash the talent of many such skilled people who can contribute to the Country while playing at National or International Level.
Likewise, the Sports Activities, Cultural Fests are also held at large scale in these Institutes. There are many inter-college competitions held by both the institutes but still, IITs conduct more sports games and cultural fests in comparison to NITs.
Some of the cultural fest held in IITs & NITs are listed below –
| S.No. |
Cultural Fest |
|
| IITs |
NITs |
|
| 1. | Shaastra | Advaitam |
| 2. | Kshitij | Saptrang |
| 3. | Techfest | Utkansh |
| 4. | Cognizance | Utkarsh |
| 5 | Nvision | Confluence |
| 6. | Technex | Aarohi |
For more details please visit - List of cultural and technical festivals in IITs and NITs.
IIT vs NIT (Difference - 7): Placements & Salary Packages
When it comes to the Placements & Packages Difference between IIT & NIT, then we would like to state that the role of Institutes is only to take you to the door of opportunities & create your initial Educational Reputation.
No matter in which institute you are! Be it any IIT or NIT, it is only up to you that how do you use your skillset to grab the job that matches perfectly with your expectations.
It is quite assumable that for placements, IITs have better opportunities and salary packages in comparison to NITs. Most of the IIT pass-outs go abroad at higher salaries starting from 2 lakhs or more monthly packages through the Campus Placements.
The job opportunities in NITs are also quite assumable! With a package starting from 8,00,000 or above and the chances of International jobs can be expected in NITs.
There are many students despite being studied in NIT holds a job package greater than an IIT holder. Students are placed in most recognized MNCs only through their own capabilities & talent.
Here you get the List of Indian MNC’s & their CEOs!
To frame a perfect example of top achievers in front of you, we’re putting some names of well-known personalities who were passed out from the prestigious IITs & NITs.
| S. No. | Name | Designation & Company | Passed from |
| 1. | Sachin Bansal | Co-Founder of Flipkart | IIT |
| 2. | Binny Bansal | Co-Founder of Flipkart | IIT |
| 3. | N. R. Murthy | Co-Founder of Infosys | IIT |
| 4. | Natarajan Chandrasekaran | Chairman of Tata Sons | NIT |
| 5. | Shyam Srinivasan | CEO of Federal Bank | NIT |
For more details, please watch out the video given below –
So, which one you’ll be going to desire for? IIT or NIT? Please share out your reviews in the comments section below & let us know which Institute you’re going to take admission in.
Also, share this article with your friends so that they too must be aware of the differences between these two Institutes.
Happy Reading!
