NTA releases the number of students who applied and appeared for the NIFT 2026 Entrance Exam. The number of students who registered/appeared for NIFT Stage 1 and NIFT Stage 2 will be released soon. Aspirants can check how many students appear for NIFTEE year-wise and the acceptance rate here.
NIFT Exam was conducted today, February 08, 2026 for all the UG and PG programmes for Stage 1. The number of students expected to sit in the NIFT Stage 1 is around 35,000. NIFT Exam 2026 is conducted in two shifts: NIFT GAT and NIFT CAT. NIFT GAT is computer-based and NIFT CAT is in paper based mode. NIFT GAT is from 10 AM to 1 PM. NIFT CAT is from 3 PM to 6 PM. After this NIFT Answer Key will be released by NTA for GAT exam.
Latest Updates:
- NIFT 2026 LIVE Updates: Question Paper Analysis (OUT), Section-wise Difficulty Level, Student Review, Good Attempts
- NIFT Answer Key 2026 (SOON) LIVE Updates
- NIFT 2026 Provisional Answer Key Expected Release Dates & How to Challenge Answers
- NIFT 2026 CAT vs GAT: Which Section Was Tougher Today?
- NIFT Expected Cutoff 2026: Ranks & Admission Chances Across Top NIFT Campuses
- NIFTEE 2026 Stage 1 Statistics for GAT and CAT (Expected)
- NIFT Acceptance Rate 2026
- NIFTEE 2025 Stage 1 Statistics for GAT and CAT
- How many students appeared for NIFTEE 2025 Stage 1 Examination for UG and PG programs?
- How many males and females registered for NIFT 2025 Entrance test?
NIFTEE 2026 Stage 1 Statistics for GAT and CAT (Expected)
The NIFT GAT and CAT statistics are:
| Shift |
NIFTEE Stage 1 2026 Exam |
Registered |
Appeared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 |
General Ability Test (GAT) |
18000+ |
17000+ |
| Shift 2 |
Creative Ability Test (CAT) |
16000+ |
15000+ |
| Total |
|
34000+ |
32000+ |
Commonly asked questions
Slot booking process for the NIFT Situation Test 2026 will be held a few weeks before the Situation Test. Slot booking process will be held online and will be open for candidates who have qualified in NIFT written exams. As part of the slot booking process, candidate needs to book their date and time slots for Situation Test. Note that slots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The details of the slot allocated to the candidate, exam centre, and other key details will be mentioned on the admit card.
Candidates will be provided with the items for making the model during the NIFT Situation Test. Materials that students may be provided with are Glaze Papers, Plasticine Clay, Copper Wire, Ivory Sheets, Cardboard, Thermocol (thick And Thin), Kite Papers, Handmade Sheet, Coloured Clay, Cellophane, Fabric, Thread, Ribbon, Straw, Aluminum Foil, etc. The candidate can not use any other items except the ones provided in the exam hall.
We at Shiksha.com will bring you student reactions for the NIFT exam. Our representatives will be present at the NIFT 2024 exam centre to do live coverage and provide insights into various aspects of the exam. We will get in touch with students appearing in the NIFT 2026 exam after they have appeared in the entrance exam. The student reactions will cover aspects like difficulty level of the exam, types of questions asked, expected cut-off, etc. Note that the student reactions will be available for all the design courses - M.Des B. Des, B.FTech M.FTech and MFM.
The NIFT Situation Test is a hands-on test that B. Des candidates need to appear in after qualifying the written exam. During the Situation Test the candidate has to make a model. Note that the material for making the model will be provided to the candidate inside the exam hall; no other material expect that provided to the candidate is allowed. So, candidates appearing in the Situation Test must not bring any additional materials for the Situation Test. The Situation Test will be evaluated on the spot. It is mandatory for the candidate to draft a write-up explaining the model.
NIFT Acceptance Rate 2026
Check out the acceptance rate for NIFT.
| Academic Session |
Registration |
Seats |
Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-2027 |
To be Announced |
5076 |
To be Announced |
| 2025-2026 |
33,877 |
5,289 |
13-15% |
| 2021-22 |
20242 |
3777 |
18.7% |
| 2020-21 |
26604 |
3810 |
14.3% |
| 2019-20 |
29195 |
3692 |
12.6% |
| 2018-19 |
31862 |
3305 |
10.4% |
| 2017-18 |
29000 |
3319 |
11.4% |
| 2016-17 |
26160 |
3279 |
12.5% |
| 2015-16 |
27537 |
3006 |
10.9% |
| 2014-15 |
26391 |
2742 |
10.4% |
| 2013-14 |
19436 |
2680 |
13.8% |
NIFTEE 2025 Stage 1 Statistics for GAT and CAT
The NIFT GAT and CAT statistics are:
| Shift |
Exam |
Registered |
Appeared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 |
General Ability Test (GAT) |
17,974 |
16,475 |
| Shift 2 |
Creative Ability Test (CAT) |
15,903 |
14,586 |
| Total |
|
33,877 |
31,061 |
Commonly asked questions
NIFTEE 2026 was conducted on February 08, 2026. Written tests comprised a General Ability Test (GAT) and a Creative Ability Test (CAT). GAT is mandatory for all candidates, but CAT is only required for B. Des and M. Des candidates.
In the scenario where two or more candidates score the same marks in NIFT, the tie-breaker policy will be applied.
- The marks scored by the candidate in tests with higher weightage will be considered to break the tie. For example, for the B. Des programme, marks obtained in the CAT exam will be compared to break the tie.
- If the marks obtained in the CAT are equal, then marks obtained in GAT will be considered.
- If tie is undecided, then subject-wise marks in the following order will be considered: Communication Ability, English Comprehension, Quantitative Ability, Analytical Ability &General Knowledge and Current Affairs.
On the day of the NIFT exam, candidates must bring the following items with them NIFT 2026 admit card, a valid photo id proof, HB Pencil, eraser, sharpener, and dry colours.
Items that are not allowed inside the exam venue are water bottle, papers, notes, Books, calculator, electronic gadgets, mobile phone, bag, handbagand correction marker/ white fluid.
NIFT Situation Test will be conducted in an offline mode at the various NIFT campuses. Considering there are 19 NIFTs, the candidate will be able to select any of these institutes to appear in the Situation Test. The window to select test centres for the Situation Test will be announced soon after the declaration of NIFT results for the written exam. Test centres for the Situation Test will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. So, candidates need to book their slots as soon as possible. Note that if seats in a particular centre (or institute) fill out, the candidate will not be able to be offered slots for that institute.
Explore colleges based on NIFT Entrance Exam
How many students appeared for NIFTEE 2025 Stage 1 Examination for UG and PG programs?
Stage 1 examination was conducted on February 09, 2025, for various undergraduates and graduate programs. Also, there was no second stage examination for the Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech.) programme. The selection process was based on the performance of the General Ability Test (GAT) in Stage 1. The following list has program-wise statistics of the registered and appeared candidates.
| Programme |
Registered |
Appeared |
|---|---|---|
| B.Des (Shift 1) |
11,944 |
11,071 |
| B.Des Lateral (Shift 1) |
44 |
37 |
| B.F.Tech (Shift 1) |
1,015 |
888 |
| B.F.Tech and B.Des (Shift 1) |
2,492 |
2,264 |
| B.F.Tech Lateral (Shift 1) |
9 |
9 |
| M.Des (Shift 1) |
1,078 |
977 |
| M.F.M. (Shift 1) |
950 |
845 |
| M.F.M. and M.Des (Shift 1) |
389 |
338 |
| M.F.Tech (Shift 1) |
53 |
46 |
| CAT B.Des (Shift 2) |
11,944 |
11,044 |
| CAT B.F.Tech and B.Des (Shift 2) |
2,492 |
2,245 |
| CAT M.Des (Shift 2) |
1,078 |
962 |
| CAT M.F.M and M.Des (Shift 2) |
389 |
335 |
| Grand Total |
33,877 |
31,061 |
How many males and females registered for NIFT 2025 Entrance test?
The number of female registrations was more than that of males in the NIFTEE 2025 Examination. The gender wise distribution of the NIFTEE Examination is:
| Gender |
Registered |
Appeared |
|---|---|---|
| Female |
28,080 |
25,783 |
| Male |
5,797 |
5,278 |

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Student Forum
Answered a month ago
NIFT 2026 Final Result for UG and PG programmes is expected in June. It can be released anytime in the week of June 2026.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
There is no fixed number of mock tests one should take before the NIFT Entrance Exam. A candidate should take at least one mock test daily for the NIFT Entrance Preparation. 10-15 mock tests will really help in preparing for the exam.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
There are 20 participating institutes of NIFT that offer the B. Des and B.F.Tech programmes. B. Des programme offers specializations in the following programs: Fashion Design (FD), Leather Design (LD), Accessory Design (AD), Textile Design (TD), Knitwear Design (KD), Fashion Communication (FC).
For B
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
NIFT cutoff for a participating NIFT is the last rank for which admission is offered in for a particular programme and category. This means, if a candidate fails to score a rank equal to or higher than the cutoff rank, they don't get admission. Typically, a higher ranked institute will invite: More
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
NIFT Delhi is frequently ranked among the top design colleges in the country. So, the admission cut-off for the institute is pretty high, especially when compared to the lower-ranked colleges. This is because being a higher-ranked college, NIFT Delhi receives a higher number of applicants. Another f
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
Yes, Pearl Academy, Mumbai BBA students who wish to avail the NIFT Rank scholarship are required to appear for the NIFT entrance exam separately. This can be done either before or after securing the BBA admission at Pearl Academy, Mumbai.
There are also other BBA scholarships that do not require cand
S
Contributor-Level 10
Sayeba Naushad is a commerce postgraduate from Banaras Hindu University. She has over five years of experience in content writing and editing. She has a nose for current events in design field. At Shiksha.com, she s
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