Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have significantly reduced BTech seats in core engineering branches over the past decade. An analysis of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Advanced) seat matrix data from 2015 to 2025 shows hundreds of seats cut in traditional disciplines like chemical, textile, mining, and metallurgy.
Despite these cuts, the total number of BTech seats across IITs increased by over 80%, from 10,006 in 2015 to 18,160 in 2025. This increase is primarily due to the introduction of new branches and additional seats in computer science, information technology, and related fields.
Core Engineering Seats Decline
Between 2015 and 2025, several core engineering branches experienced substantial seat reductions. IIT Delhi, for instance, cut 48.07% of its BTech Textile Engineering seats. IIT Roorkee reduced Metallurgical and Materials Engineering seats by 54.5% in the same period. IIT Roorkee also discontinued its undergraduate programs in Biotechnology and Polymer Science and Engineering.
Careers360 analyzed open, unreserved seats in the eight oldest IITs: Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) – Varanasi, Roorkee, and Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad. This focus excludes changes from the 10% Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota introduced in 2019, which expanded total seats without reducing unreserved availability.
Beyond the most affected branches, seats also decreased in Aerospace, Civil, Biotechnology, Biochemical, Mechanical, Electrical, Engineering Physics, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Ceramic, Mining Machinery, and Petroleum Engineering.
Branches with Deepest Cuts (2015-2025)
The table below lists the 10 BTech engineering branches with the largest percentage cuts in open seats:
| Indian Institute of Technology | Branch | % Open Seats Cut |
|---|---|---|
| IIT Roorkee | Metallurgical and Materials Engineering | 54.55 |
| IIT Delhi | Textile Engineering | 48.07 |
| IIT Kanpur | Material Science Engineering | 40 |
| IIT ISM Dhanbad | Mineral Engineering | 39.13 |
| IIT ISM Dhanbad | Mining Engineering | 38.30 |
| IIT Roorkee | Production and Industrial Engineering | 37.93 |
| IIT Delhi | Chemical Engineering | 37.84 |
| IIT Roorkee | Chemical Engineering | 34.55 |
| IIT Bombay | Chemical Engineering | 34.33 |
| IIT BHU Varanasi | Pharmaceutical Engineering | 32.35 |
Source: JIC Reports 2015-2025, Open seats only.
Reasons for Seat Reductions
Professors, both current and retired, cited several factors for the seat cuts:
- Market Demand: Demand for basic engineering has decreased. New domains like Artificial Intelligence attract more students.
- Placements and Salaries: Core branches offer lower salaries and fewer placement opportunities compared to IT and computer science.
- Government Policy: A 2017 committee, formed after seats went vacant in IITs and NITs, recommended reducing or discontinuing unpopular courses.
- International Rankings: IITs face pressure to improve global rankings. This often involves rationalizing pupil-teacher ratios.
- Curriculum Revision: Institutes revise curricula and introduce new programs. This necessitates redistribution of seats due to limited campus capacity. IIT Delhi, for example, added BTech in Materials Engineering and Computational Mechanics from 2020.
- Budget Constraints: Financial limitations influence seat allocation.
- Industry Needs: The Indian chemical industry, for example, has not grown significantly in 10 years and may not require specialized IIT BTechs.
Impact of EWS Quota and Internal Decisions
The introduction of the EWS quota in 2019 initially led to an increase in total seats across departments. However, later rationalization efforts targeted traditional core engineering branches. Institutes prioritize courses with higher student demand, such as computer science or electrical engineering, by increasing seats there and decreasing them elsewhere.
A former IIT Delhi professor noted that IITs are autonomous institutions. Their senates make internal decisions regarding seat allocation. While the government may push for rationalization, IITs are not bound by non-statutory directives.
Despite declining demand for core branches generally, all seats in IIT disciplines like metallurgy, mining, or textile engineering remain filled. This indicates the strong appeal of an IIT degree, regardless of the specific engineering field.