NIFT Cutoff for General Category 2026: Expected Cutoff for B.Des & M.Des

Candidates will be able to check the cutoff for NIFT Delhi on the website of NIFT: nift.admissions.nic.in. The opening and closing rank of all the programmes is given on this page. This year, NIFT 2026 cutoff is expected to be on the lower side.

The expected cutoff for NIFT 2026 for B.Des is:

Category	Expected Cutoff for B.Des
Open	30-80
EWS	26-29
OBC	26-29
SC	22
ST	19

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 factor is more number of higher ranked candidates want to get admission in the institute, which also pushes up the cut-off. On the other hand, lower ranked colleges are not a priority for the top ranked candidates; meaning a higher number of lower ranked candidates applies to these institutes. This keeps the cut-off low in these institutes.

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 applications Higher-ranked candidates This in turn pushes up the cutoff in higher ranked (or popular) institutes. Likewise, a lower-ranked institute will receive comparatively fewer number of applications, and mostly from lower-ranked candidates. This means, cut-off in these institutes are lower making it much easier to get admission.

The cut-off for NIFT Panchkula is released category and programme-wise. So, candidates seeking admission to a particular programme need to consult the cut-off in their reserved or open category. For the year 2022, the opening CMR of Dom. OBC category for the Fashion communication was 6023; the closing CMR was 6414. The opening CMR for admission to the Fashion Design course was 5182, while the closing CMR was 5298. Meanwhile, for the M.Des programme, both the opening and closing CMR for the Dom. OBC category was 528. Note that CMR stands for common merit rank.

NIFT master's programme is offered in Master of Design (M. Des. ), Master of Fashion Management (M. F. M) and Master of Fashion Technology (M. F. Tech. ). 

The cut-off would be released separately for all these courses. This means, if the candidate meets the cut-off criteria for M. Des but fails to meet the cut-off for M. F. Tech, in that case the candidate will only be eligible for admission to the M. Des programme. So, the candidate needs to check out the cut-off or closing ranks for the programme they are seeking admission to. The cut-off would be determined by considering factors like total applicants, seat intake, merit ranks of the applicants, and also admission category.

The Masters programs at NIFT (M. Des, M. F. Tech, and MFM) has a combined intake capacity of 1034 seats. The General Ability Test (GAT) is common for all courses, while candidates seeking admission to the M. Des programme also need to appear in the Creative Ability Test (CAT). The final merit list for admission to the M. Des programme will be prepared by giving weightage to the CAT, GAT and Interview. Meanwhile, the merit list for the M. F. Tech and M. F. M programs will be prepared by considering the performance of the candidate in the GAT and Interview. The candidate can select their programme of study at the time of filling out the NIFT application form. Note that the allotment of seats will be as per the merit rank of the candidate.

NIFT Bengaluru has 190 BDes and 38 BFTech seats. NIFT Bengaluru is one of the leading fashion design colleges in India. The admission cut-off for the institute tends to be higher, so the candidate must have a high merit rank to have a good chance of admission. Admission to both the BDes and BFTech courses at the institute will be conducted on the basis of the merit rank of the candidate in the NIFT 2023 exam. Candidates seeking admission to the BDes programme need to appear in the CAT GAT and Situation Test. However, BFTech applicants only need to take the GAT exam.

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.F.Tech, cutoff is released for Apparel Production.

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 applications Higher ranked candidates This in turn pushes up the cutoff in higher ranked (or popular) institutes. Likewise, a lower-ranked institute will receive comparatively fewer number of applications, and mostly from lower-ranked candidates. This means, cut-off in these institutes are lower making it much easier to get admission.

The National Instituite of Fashion Technology will release the NIFT 2026 at the time of seat allotment and counseling.

The cut-offs will be available institute and category-wise for all the program at nift.admissions.nic.in.

The cut-offs will be prepared by considering factors like the seat intake, the merit rank of candidates, admission category, etc. Note that if the seat intake is increase the cut-off would likely go down and vice versa.

The cut-offs are available for the following titles:

• Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT UG Counselling 2026
• Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT UG (Lateral Entry) Counselling 2026
• Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT PG Counselling 2026

To download the cut-offs, visit: https://nift.admissions.nic.in/or-cr/

Candidates can check NIFT cutoff 2026 online on the official website of the National Institute of Fashion Technology. NIFT cutoff is released as a PDF file containing the opening and closing ranks. The cut-off would be category-specific. So, the candidate needs to check the cut-off for the category they belong to. Also, note that candidates from reserved categories will be considered for admission under general category as well. However, candidates belonging to open category will not be considered for admission under reserved categories.