National institute of Technology (NIT) is the group of institutes of engineering and technology in India. Top NIT colleges in India are situated, one each in major state or territory of India. All the thirty NITs are given autonomous status today, which enables them to formulate a curriculum of their own and, which they are free to change as and when necessary. Previously NIT was known as Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) and were under the jurisdiction of the respective state governments. Later they were upgraded as Institutes of National importance in 2007 and came under the authority of central government.
Top NIT colleges in India offer courses at bachelors (duration four years), masters (duration two years) and doctorate levels in various branches of engineering and technology. Some of the attractive programs implemented include dual degree programs and integrated postgraduate studies which takes five years instead of conventional six years. Admissions to this prestigious set of institutions is based on IIT-JEE, joint entrance exam conducted across India yearly. The major aim of establishing NIT was to promote regional diversity and multi-cultural understanding in India. To fulfill this aim fifty percentage of the total available seats are reserved for students from the parent state of NIT and rest fifty percentage is open for students from other states of India.