Manipal Institute of Technology MAHE Answered Questions

Going for a long term totally depends on you. Taking a year drop is not so easy. There's a lot of peer pressure as well as there's 'self-pressure'. But if you really want to get into IIT, don't think about it and go for a long term.
As far as the question for mechanical engineering is concerned, mechanical in MIT is really good. There are well equipped labs and workshops. The college even has license for a number of mechanical software's and you can anytime contact a professor to learn them in the college lab. Apart from that, I won't say all but some professors are really learned. Also there are a number student projects in he college like formula Manipal, SolarMobil, team Manipal racing, etc. which gives you a lot of practical hands on experience at UG level.

Mechanical in Manipal main campus is quite good. We have all the facilities, from well equipped labs and workshops to a number of opportunities. There are a number of projects that students do in the college and one can be a part of it and learn a number of practical things.
As far as the trend or which branch is better, to be frank there's nothing like that. Every branch is unique in it's own way. Be it mechanical, CSE, biotechnology or be it ECE. And it really doesn't matter which branch you choose. For instance if you choose mechanical but when you enter college you also started liking CSE, so you can study CSE too and sit in the placements. In the end all that matters is the knowledge you have and not the branch you have.