The battle between the IITs and NITs has been raging ever since the NITs  were first created as part of a way to generate more engineering and scientific  scholars under the aegis of Jawaharlal Nehru. The concept of the IITs was  first introduced in a report in the year 1945 by Sh. N.M. Sircar, then member  of Education on Viceroy’s Executive Council. The first Indian Institute of  Technology was set up in 1950 at Kharagpur in West Bengal. The Institute  was formally inaugurated at Hijli in Kharagpur on August 18, 1951 by  Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. The NITs were started as a collaborative effort between the State and the Central governments titled Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs). By 2002, the RECs were upgraded to National Institutes, bringing them under the direct control of the Central Government. However, the attachment to the traditional, well-established IITs left a strong feeling of loyalty among the alumni, who felt that sub-standard colleges were taking up some of the exclusivity and standing of the IITs. However, the NITs have been fielding a large number of successful candidates for a while now and are, if not on a par with the IITs, definitely offering them some stiff competition. The newer IITs like IIT Patna and Gandhinagar have been struggling to keep on track with a lack of funding, proper campuses and a lack of faculty. Compared to these, the NITs have been more than holding their own in the Indian IT Industry. Some of the more prolific candidates from the NITs have also gone on to creating their own companies. While the IITs have seen more coverage of their successes, the NIT graduates have made significant strides and contributions to the still growing IT industry in India.

In comparison to the NITs, the IITs have better infrastructure, a wide network made up by the alumni in everything from organizations to clubs and have a better trained faculty, again mostly made up of former students who have returned to teach at their Alma Mater. The IITs also encourage and build a strong entrepreneurial inspiring culture. Placements are also a strong point in favour of the IITs. The public perception of IITs as a model of excellence lends itself well to hiring. While the difference in placements between the IITs and NITs is almost negligible, the hiring preference is most certainly slanted in favour of the IITs.

Another common point between the NITs and IITs is the selection process. The NITs give 40% weightage to the Class XII score, 30% to the JEE (Main) and the remaining to the JEE (Advanced) while the IITs have an even more stringent policy, giving 50% weightage to the Board results and the JEE (Main).