IIT Expansion: Union Cabinet Approves Rs 11,828 Crore Project To Increase Student Capacity By Over 6,500 Seats

The Union Cabinet has approved the Phase-B construction and expansion of five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) established after 2014.

These institutions located in Andhra Pradesh (IIT Tirupati), Kerala (IIT Palakkad), Chhattisgarh (IIT Bhilai), Jammu & Kashmir (IIT Jammu), and Karnataka (IIT Dharwad) will see a total investment of Rs 11,828.79 crore over four years, from 2025–26 to 2028–29, the government said in a statement.

The ambitious expansion aims to increase the combined student strength from 7,111 to 13,687, thereby enabling 6,576 additional students to pursue undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes in these prestigious institutions.

The first year intake alone will rise by 1,364 students, gradually increasing across four years.

Alongside academic growth, the Cabinet has sanctioned the creation of 130 new faculty positions at the level of Professor (Level 14 and above), reinforcing the commitment to academic excellence.

The government also announced the development of five cutting-edge research parks within these campuses to promote stronger industry-academia collaboration, which is expected to foster innovation, research, and entrepreneurship.

This expansion is poised to have a far-reaching impact. By catering to a broader student base, it addresses the growing demand for quality education while ensuring greater accessibility and social mobility.

The initiative will also have a multiplier effect on employment, both directly through hiring faculty, administrative staff, and researchers and indirectly, by energising local economies with increased demand for housing, transport, and services.

The Ministry noted that the new IITs had begun operations from temporary campuses between 2015 and 2017 and are now functioning from permanent facilities.

The move aligns with the Budget 2025–26 announcement, which stated, “Total number of students in 23 IITs has increased 100 per cent from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh in the past 10 years. Additional infrastructure will be created in the five IITs started after 2014 to facilitate education for 6,500 more students.”

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