Top Engineering Colleges of India 2024

Engineering is one of the most preferred career choices of science students. Over 14 lakh candidates take the coveted Joint Entrance Examination every year vying for admission to the top engineering institutes of India. Our nation is a host of top-notch engineering colleges ranging from the Indian Institute of Technology to Jadavpur University. Here we have compiled a list of top engineering colleges in India according to their National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranks 2024.
NIRF evaluates higher education establishments based on five crucial criteria: Teaching, Learning, and Resources (TLR); Research and Professional Practices (RPC); Graduation Outcomes (GO); Outreach and Inclusivity (OI); and Perception (PER).


The Indian Institute of Technology Madras is renowned globally for its exceptional standards in technical education, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and industrial consultancy. In 1956, the German Government extended technical support to establish an advanced engineering institute in India. The Indo-German agreement, signed in Bonn, West Germany in 1959, led to the founding of the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras. Some of the renowned courses offered by the eminent institute are Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mechanics & Biomedical, Engineering, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, and Chemistry. IIT Madras has bagged the first position in the engineering category in NIRF rankings since 2016.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advance, 75% (10+2)
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, GATE (M.Tech), Joint Admission Test for M.Sc. JAM (M.Sc), and Common Admission Test CAT (MBA)
Median Salary Range of UG students: 15 to 17 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 13 to 15 lakhs per annum


The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is one of the 23 IITs established as Centres of Excellence for education, research, and development in science, engineering, and technology in India.
Initially founded as the College of Engineering in 1961, the institute was later recognized as an Institution of National Importance under the "Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 1963" and renamed the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. It was also granted Deemed University status, giving it the authority to set its own academic policies, conduct examinations, and confer degrees. It has secured a second rank in the NIRF engineering category since 2019.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced and 75% aggregate (10+2)
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE (M.Tech), JAM (M.Sc), and CAT (MBA)
Median Salary Range of UG students: 17 to 22 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 15 thousand to fourteen lakhs per annum


The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, is a prestigious public research university and technical institute in India. Established in 1958, IIT Bombay became the second Indian Institute of Technology to be founded, following a recommendation by a government committee in 1946 that aimed to advance technical education in the country. In 1961, the Parliament designated IITs as Institutes of National Importance. IIT Bombay was set up with support from UNESCO, and funding provided by the Soviet Union. This institute has clinched the third position in NIRF engineering since 2019, it bagged the second position in 2018.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced and 75% aggregate (10+2), UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design)
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE (M.Tech), JAM (M.Sc), CAT (MBA), CEED (Common Entrance Exam for Design)
Median Salary Range of UG students: 13 to 19 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 13 to 15 lakhs per annum


The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) is a prestigious public institution located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Recognized as an Institute of National Importance under the Institutes of Technology Act, IIT Kanpur was established by the Government of India in 1960. Initially, it began operating in December 1959 from a room in the canteen building of Harcourt Butler Technological Institute in Kanpur. In 1963, the institute shifted to its current campus on the Grand Trunk Road, near the Kalyanpur area in Kanpur district.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced and 75% aggregate (10+2)
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE/CEED
Median Salary Range of UG students: 19 to 23 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 15 to 17 lakhs per annum


The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a premier public institute and research university located in Kharagpur, West Bengal. Founded in 1951, it was the first IIT established by the Government of India and is recognized as an Institute of National Importance. In 2019, IIT Kharagpur was designated as an Institute of Eminence by the Government. Initially focused on engineering education post-independence, the institute has expanded its academic offerings to include management, law, architecture, and humanities. Spanning 8.7 square kilometers, the campus is home to around 22,000 residents, making it one of India’s top academic institutions. IIT Kharagpur clinched 6th rank in the NIRF engineering category in 2023, and 5th in 2022 and 2021.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced and 75% aggregate (10+2)
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE (M.Tech), JAM (M.Sc), CAT (MBA)
Median Salary Range of UG students: 15 to 24 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 11 to 18 lakhs per annum


The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee), situated in Uttarakhand, is the oldest engineering institution in India. Established in 1847 as the College of Civil Engineering by James Thomason, then Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces, it was initially founded to train officers and surveyors for the construction of the Ganges Canal. Following Thomason's death and the canal's completion, the institution was renamed Thomason College of Civil Engineering in 1854 by Proby Cautley, the canal's chief architect. In 1949, it became the University of Roorkee, and in 2001, it gained its current name, IIT Roorkee. The institute now boasts 22 academic departments focused on engineering, applied sciences, humanities, and management, with a strong emphasis on scientific research and technological education. IT Roorkee claimed 5th rank in 2023, 6th rank in 2022, and 2021 in the NIRF engineering category.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced and 75% aggregate (10+2)
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE
Median Salary Range of UG students: 16 to 19 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 7 to 23 lakhs per annum


The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati) is a public technical university founded by the Government of India, located in the Amingaon area near North Guwahati in Assam. It is the sixth IIT to be established in the country and is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Indian government. IIT Guwahati's origins can be traced back to the 1985 Assam Accord, an agreement between the All Assam Students Union and the Government of India, which called for enhancing educational facilities in Assam, including the establishment of an IIT. Founded by an act of parliament in 1994, IIT Guwahati began its academic activities in 1995. IIT Guwahati secured 7th place in the Engineering category in 2023, 2022, and 2021 in the NIRF engineering category.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE (M.Tech), JAM (M.Sc)
Median Salary Range of UG students: 18 to 21 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 12 to 13 lakhs per annum


The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad or IITH) is a public technical university situated in Kandi village, near Sangareddy in Telangana. Like all IITs, it holds the status of an Institute of National Importance. Established in 2008, IITH has rapidly emerged as one of India’s top academic institutions, consistently ranking among the best, despite being much younger than other IITs ahead of it in rankings.
IIT Hyderabad was founded by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, under the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2011. The Act was approved by the Lok Sabha on March 24, 2011, and by the Rajya Sabha on April 30, 2012. Its establishment received technical and financial support from the Government of Japan. It clinched 9th position in 2022, 7th rank in 2021, and 8th in 2020 in the NIRF engineering category.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced and 75% aggregate (10+2)
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE
Median Salary Range of UG students: 16 to 21 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 15 to 20 lakhs per annum


The National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli (NIT Trichy) is a prominent national research university located near Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Established in 1964 as Regional Engineering College Tiruchirappalli by the governments of India and Tamil Nadu, it was initially affiliated with the University of Madras. In 2003, it was granted deemed university status with approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the Government of India, and renamed NIT Tiruchirappalli. Recognized as an Institute of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) Act, 2007, it is part of the National Institutes of Technology system of centrally funded technical institutions. It bagged 9th position in 2023, 10th in 2022, 9th in 2021, and 2020.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE
Median Salary Range of UG students: 10 to 16 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 7 to 10 lakhs per annum


The Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) Varanasi (IIT-BHU) is a public technical university situated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Originally established in 1919 as Banaras Engineering College, it was restructured into the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University in 1968. In 2012, it attained the status of an Indian Institute of Technology. IIT-BHU comprises 16 departments, three interdisciplinary schools, and a Humanities and Social Sciences section, all within the Banaras Hindu University campus.

Eligibility Exam for UG Courses: JEE Advanced
Eligibility Exam for PG Courses: GATE
Median Salary Range of UG students: 16 to 21 lakhs per annum
Median Salary Range of PG students: 12 to 16 lakhs per annum