The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are pillars of knowledge centre in modern India. Few of the IITs have acquired such brand value making them comparable with western Institutes, and they are the ones which in true sense carrying the glorified legacy of ancient India. IITs are self-governing public, technical, and research institutes located across India. They are under the dominion of Ministry of Education, Government of India. Each IIT is an autonomous institute that draft their own curricula. Each IIT is linked to other IITs though a common council called IIT council.

As per legal framework, the Minister of Education is the ex[1]officio chairperson of the IIT Council. IITs are administered by the Institute of Technology Act, 1961, which has declared each IIT as an “Institution of National Importance”. Presently, the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 lists twenty[1]three institutes as IIT. Commencing 2022, the total number of seats for undergraduate programs in all IITs is approximately 16,053. 

The history of IITs date back to 1945, when the government of India, on the initiative of Sir Ardeshir Dalal and under the chairmanship of N. R. Sarkar, appointed a twenty-two-member committee of industrialists, scientists, and educators, to consider the development of higher technical institutions in India. The goal was to corroborate an adequate supply of technical workforce for India’s industrial development. The committee recommended the establishment of at least four “higher technical institutions”, scattered throughout India-one each in the north, south, east, and west to prevent regional imbalance. These institutions were possibly to be modelled after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).