How Many IIT Seats Are There in India in 2025?

Every year, over 1.5 million students take the JEE Advanced exam in India. But only about 18,000 of them get into an IIT. That’s less than 1.2%. If you’re asking how many IIT seats are there in India, you’re not just looking for a number-you’re trying to understand your real chances.

How Many IIT Seats Are There in 2025?

In 2025, there are 18,000 undergraduate engineering seats across all 23 IITs. This number hasn’t changed much since 2023, when the Ministry of Education approved a slight increase to balance demand and quality. Each IIT adds or adjusts seats based on infrastructure, faculty strength, and lab capacity-not just how many students pass the exam.

Here’s how the seats break down by IIT type:

• Older IITs (like IIT Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur): Each has 1,000 to 1,300 seats.
• Newer IITs (like IIT Jammu, Dharwad, Palakkad): Most have 400 to 700 seats.
• IIT BHU Varanasi and IIT(ISM) Dhanbad: These were upgraded from older institutions and now have around 1,100 seats each.

That adds up to roughly 18,000 total seats. It’s not a fixed number-some IITs add 10-20 seats per year if they get new buildings or labs approved. But don’t count on big jumps. The government keeps growth tight to maintain standards.

What Programs Get These Seats?

Not all 18,000 seats are for the same course. Most go to B.Tech programs, but there are other options too:

• B.Tech - 15,500 seats (about 86% of total)
• B.S. (Bachelor of Science) - 1,200 seats (offered at IIT Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Madras)
• B.Arch - 700 seats (requires NATA score in addition to JEE Advanced)
• Dual Degree (B.Tech + M.Tech) - 500 seats (5-year programs, mostly at top IITs)

So if you’re aiming for B.Tech, you’re competing for roughly 15,500 seats. The rest are for specialized tracks. Some students think B.S. or B.Arch are easier to get into-but they’re not. The cutoffs for B.S. at IIT Delhi are often higher than B.Tech at newer IITs.

How Are Seats Distributed Among Categories?

The Indian government reserves seats for specific groups. This isn’t optional-it’s law. Here’s the 2025 seat allocation for each IIT:

That PwD reservation is applied across all categories. So if you’re a General candidate with a disability, you’re competing for 5% of the 9,000 General seats-not 5% of the total. This makes a huge difference in cutoff ranks.

Why the Number Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Just knowing there are 18,000 seats doesn’t help you plan. What matters is how many seats are filled at your rank. For example:

• Last year, the last General candidate to get into IIT Bombay got rank 1,100.
• The last OBC-NCL candidate got into IIT Roorkee at rank 3,800.
• A SC candidate with rank 12,000 got into IIT Jodhpur.

So if you’re General category and your rank is above 1,500, you’re unlikely to get into any of the top 8 IITs. That doesn’t mean you won’t get in anywhere-it just means you’ll likely end up at IIT Mandi, IIT Goa, or IIT Tirupati.

And here’s the hard truth: Many students think if they score 200+ in JEE Advanced, they’re safe. But in 2024, 200+ got you rank 3,200. That’s enough for IIT Dhanbad-but not IIT Kanpur. Your score only tells you where you stand among 1.5 million people. Your rank tells you where you’ll end up.

What Happens If You Don’t Get a Seat?

Over 1.48 million students take JEE Main every year. Only 250,000 qualify for JEE Advanced. Of those, 18,000 get IIT seats. That leaves over 230,000 qualified students without an IIT seat.

Most go to NITs, IIITs, or other state engineering colleges. Around 35,000 seats are available in NITs alone. Many students end up in private colleges like VIT, SRM, or BITS Pilani. BITS Pilani has its own entrance exam (BITSAT), and its admission cutoff is often higher than some IITs.

Don’t assume not getting into an IIT means your future is over. Many IIT graduates work at companies where their managers went to NITs or even regional colleges. What matters is what you do after you get in-not which college you got into.

Can the Number of IIT Seats Increase?

The government has talked about adding more IITs. But new IITs take 5-7 years to reach full capacity. IIT Bhilai started in 2016 with 100 seats. By 2025, it’s at 650. It won’t hit 1,000 until 2027.

There’s no plan to expand existing IITs beyond 1,300 seats per campus. Why? Because IITs are meant to be elite. More seats = lower faculty-student ratio = diluted quality. The IIT Council, which includes directors from all IITs, votes on seat increases-and they’re very cautious.

So if you’re waiting for 2026 or 2027 to get more seats, don’t bank on it. The number will stay around 18,000 for the next five years.

What Should You Do With This Information?

Use this data to set realistic goals:

1. If you’re in General category, aim for a rank under 1,200 to have a shot at the top 6 IITs.
2. If you’re OBC-NCL, target under 3,500 for top IITs.
3. If you’re SC/ST, focus on clearing the cutoff-you’re likely to get in somewhere.
4. Don’t ignore B.Arch or B.S. If you’re strong in drawing or physics, those can be better paths than forcing a B.Tech rank.
5. Have a backup plan. Apply to NITs, IIITs, and BITS even before JEE Advanced results.

There’s no magic number that guarantees success. But knowing how many seats exist, how they’re split, and where your rank fits gives you power. You stop guessing. You start planning.

What’s Next After JEE Advanced?

After you get your rank, you’ll go through JoSAA counseling. That’s where you pick your IIT, branch, and location. You get 6 choices. If you don’t get your first pick, you move to your second. If you still don’t get anything, you go to the next round.

Many students make one mistake: they pick only IITs. That’s risky. If you don’t get into an IIT, you lose your chance at a top NIT or IIIT. Always include at least 2-3 NITs in your list. You can always drop them later if you get an IIT.

Also, don’t ignore dual degrees. They’re harder to get into, but if you’re interested in research or higher studies, they give you a direct path to an M.Tech without another exam.