PM Modi’s Cabinet Clears ₹11,828 Crore Plan to Expand IITs Including IIT Jammu, Add Over 6,500 Seats

The Cabinet has also approved creation of 130 faculty posts (at the level of Professor i.e. Level 14 & above) in these IlTs.

IIT Jammu

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today approved the expansion of academic and infrastructure capacity (Phase-B construction) at five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) — IIT Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), IIT Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), IIT Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir), IIT Dharwad (Karnataka), and IIT Palakkad (Kerala).

The expansion, with a total outlay of ₹11,828.79 crore over a period of four years from 2025–26 to 2028–29, will facilitate the addition of over 6,500 seats across undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), and PhD programmes in these premier institutes. The Cabinet has also approved the creation of 130 new faculty posts at the level of Professor (Level 14 and above) in these IITs.

As part of the expansion, five new state-of-the-art research parks will be established to strengthen industry-academia linkages and foster innovation.

Implementation Plan and Targets

The student strength across these IITs will be increased by more than 6,500 over the next four years, with phased enhancements:

1,364 additional students in the first year,

1,738 in the second year,

1,767 in the third year, and

1,707 in the fourth year.

Upon completion of the expansion, these five IITs will collectively accommodate 13,687 students, compared to the current capacity of 7,111 — a net increase of 6,576 students. This significant growth will allow thousands more to fulfill their aspirations of studying at India’s most prestigious technical institutions, fostering nation-building, driving innovation, and boosting economic growth.

Employment Generation

The expansion is expected to generate direct employment opportunities through the hiring of additional faculty, administrative staff, researchers, and support personnel. Moreover, the development of expanded IIT campuses will stimulate local economies through increased demand for housing, transportation, and various services. Graduates and postgraduates from these IITs will further strengthen India's innovation and startup ecosystems, contributing to job creation across diverse sectors.

Nationwide Benefits

Although the expansion focuses on IITs located in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, and Kerala, admissions to IITs are conducted on a pan-India basis. Therefore, students from across the country will benefit from the enhanced capacity and facilities.

Budget 2025–26 Announcement

The expansion aligns with the announcement made in the Union Budget 2025–26, which noted that the total number of students in India’s 23 IITs had doubled over the past decade — from 65,000 to 1,35,000. The Budget further committed to creating additional infrastructure in the five IITs established after 2014 to accommodate an extra 6,500 students.

The five IITs — Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai, Jammu, and Dharwad — had started their academic sessions from temporary campuses between 2015 and 2017 and have since shifted to their permanent campuses. The approved expansion will further solidify their role as hubs of excellence in higher education and research.

Read More:

• JEE Main 2025 Topper Ahmad Shayan Scores 99.86 Percentile, Eyes IIT Delhi for Electrical or Aerospace Engineering
• JEE Main 2025 Topper Saksham Jindal Scores 100 Percentile: Aiming for IIT Bombay, CSE