Number of seats in IITs went up by 100% in last 10 years: Govt tells Parliament

NEW DELHI: There has been a 100 percent increase in the total number of students in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the last 10 years, the Minister of State (MoS) for education Sukanta Majumdar told Parliament in a written reply. The total number of students in 23 IITs has gone up from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh over these years.

When asked about the number of seats and the details of additional infrastructure created in the five IITs started after 2014 to accommodate more students, the minister said that the government announced the creation of additional infrastructure to facilitate the education of 6,500 more students in the union budget 2025. The government also plans to expand the hostel and other facilities at IIT Patna.

“IIT Delhi is one of the oldest IITs offering various undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programs, with a total student strength of approximately 12,900,” Majumdar said about the IIT in his response.

Further in respect of funds sanctioned district or state-wise, the education ministry said that IIT Hyderabad in Telangana, IIT Kanpur and IIT-BHU Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, IIT Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, and IIT Patna in Bihar are functioning from their permanent campuses. In the financial year 2024-25, more than Rs 1,830 crore has been allocated to these five IITs, it added.

In the education budget 2025, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced additional infrastructure for five IITs and addition of 6,500 seats.