Who is eligible for NIT admission?

For admission to B.Tech courses in NITs, candidates must have passed their 10+2 with at least 75% marks and have appeared in a national-level entrance examination like JEE Main, or NIMCET.

Can I get NIT Trichy without the 75% criteria?

Yes, to gain admission to NIT Trichy, the general category candidates must secure at least 75% marks in the 10+2 or equivalent examination or be in the top 20 percentile. At the same time, the candidates belonging to SC/ ST categories should have secured at least 65%.

Can I get into NIT without JEE?

No, candidates must appear for the JEE Main entrance exam in order to get admission to one of the NITs. There’s no provision for direct admission to NITs in India.

How much rank is required for admission to NITs?

Candidates seeking admission to top NITs in India must secure a rank of 10,000 or below. However, new NITs also take candidates with a rank greater than 70,000 in JEE Main.

What is the age eligibility for NITs?

There is no age limit for admission to NITs. However, candidates must ensure that they have qualified for their 10+2 examination at least two years before appearing for the JEE Main exam.

Which entrance exam do I take for admission to NITs?

Candidates can appear for numerous examinations depending upon their degree of study. For candidates seeking admission to B.Tech courses JEE Main is the right exam. For M.Tech courses candidates must appear in the GATE exam and for MCA courses NIMCET is the preferred exam.

Does NIT accept state board marks?

As per the NIT eligibility criteria state board marks are considered for admission. The candidate must have passed the board examination with at least 75% marks and the board must be a recognised one.

What if I have appeared for a board examination other than that of my state, will I be eligible for NIT?

According to the JEE Main eligibility criteria, the state code of eligibility is independent of the native place or the place of residence of the candidate. Candidates can appear for board exams outside of their residential state.

Eligibility Criteria for Admission Into NITs

The NIT eligibility criteria is that the candidate must have passed 10+2 in PCM with 75% from a recognised board. They must have appeared for the qualifying exam in 2022, and 2023, or are appearing in 2024 irrespective of their age.

Table of Contents

NIT Eligibility Criteria for Admission Through JEE Main
NIT Eligibility Criteria for Admission Through GATE
NIT Eligibility Criteria for Admission Through NIMCET

Gaining admission to top-ranking NITs in India requires checking the NIT eligibility criteria. It mandates that candidates must have completed their 10+2 in the PCM stream with 75% aggregate marks. Moreover, the candidate must have qualified for the JEE Main entrance exam.

Admission to NITs in India is facilitated through numerous entrance exams including JEE Mains and JEE Advanced, GATE, NIMCET, and etc. These exams require candidates to fulfil certain criteria to be eligible to sit for the exam.

NITs offer state-of-the-art faculty with top-notch infrastructure and a holistic environment to learn and grow. Check this article ahead to learn more about the NIT eligibility criteria in India for 2024.

NIT Eligibility Criteria for Admission Through JEE Main

JEE Mains is one of the highly recognised entrance examinations in NITs. Candidates who have appeared for JEE Main and qualify for the cutoff can easily gain admission to top-ranking NITs in India. However, they must fulfil the following NIT eligibility criteria:

NIT Admission Qualification Criteria

Admission to NITs is possible only when the candidates fulfil the NIT eligibility requirements related to qualification. The following are some important points to be considered when applying for JEE Mains:

Candidates should have passed class 12 irrespective of any percentage of marks.
They should have obtained a minimum of 75% marks in class 12 or equivalent exam. Alternatively, the candidates must be in the top 20 percentile in their class 12 examination.
For SC/ ST candidates the NIT eligibility is to obtain a minimum of 65% marks in class 12 or equivalent.

Also Read: NIT Admission Process

NIT Eligibility Age Criteria 2024

Aspirants seeking to gain admission to NITs are required to be of a certain age. So what is the age limit for JEE Main? For appearing in the JEE Main exam 2024, there is no age limit for the candidates.

Moreover, those who have passed the class 12/equivalent examination in 2023, 2022, or appearing in 2021 irrespective of their age can appear in the exam. Notably, the candidates may be required to fulfil the NIT eligibility age criteria set by the Institute(s) of their preference.

Also Read: NITs B.Tech Fee Structure 2024

State of Eligibility for Admission Into NITs

State of eligibility means the code of the State from where the candidate has passed the Class 12 (or equivalent) qualifying examination. Thus, the candidate becomes eligible to appear in JEE Main 2024.

The candidates must note that the state code of eligibility is not dependent upon the native place or the place of residence of the candidate. In simple terms, if a candidate appears for the Class 12 board examination from Rajasthan while being a resident of Uttar Pradesh, then the candidate’s state of eligibility will be considered that of Rajasthan and not that of Uttar Pradesh.

Another case in point is: If a candidate has passed the Class 12 or equivalent examination from one state but appeared for improvement from another state, the candidate’s state code of eligibility will be considered the one from where they first passed their Class 12 examination. While the state from where the candidate has appeared for improvement.

Notably, candidates who have passed or are appearing for Class 12 from NIOS should select the State of Eligibility according to the State in which their study centre is located. Moreover, the Indian nationals passing the Class 12 or equivalent exam from Nepal/Bhutan, the State code of eligibility is determined based on their permanent address in India as per their passport.

The Overseas Citizenship of India passing the Class 12 exam from an institution abroad are eligible for Other State quota seats or All India quota seats.

Note: However, the OCI are not eligible for Home State quota seats in all NITs, IIITs and Other GFTIs.

Also Read: New NITs in India

Qualifying Examinations (QE) for Admission Into NITs

NIT eligibility in India also depends on the examination the candidate is appearing for. For example, candidates who have appeared for JEE Advanced and JEE Main are given preference in NIT(s) over any other candidate. The following is the list of acceptable qualifying examinations for admission into NITs:

Examinations conducted under the 10+2 system by any recognized Central/ State Board, including CBSE, ICSE etc.
Intermediate or two-year Pre-University examination conducted by a recognized Board/ University.
Final examination of the two-year course of the Joint Services Wing of the National Defence Academy.
Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling with a minimum of five subjects.
Any Public School/ Board/ University examination in India or any foreign country is recognized as equivalent to the 10+2 system by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
Higher Secondary Certificate Vocational Examination.
A Diploma recognized by AICTE or a State board of technical education of at least 3 years duration.
General Certificate Education (GCE) examination (London/Cambridge/Sri Lanka) at the Advanced (A) level.
High School Certificate Examination of the Cambridge University or International Baccalaureate Diploma of the International Baccalaureate Office, Geneva.

Also Read: NIT Admission Process

NIT Eligibility Criteria for Admission Through GATE

To be eligible for NITs through GATE, the candidates must have secured at least 50% marks in aggregate for undergraduate courses or an equivalent CGPA from any recognized university or institution. Additionally, for postgraduate studies, the candidates must have qualified with a required cut-off in the GATE entrance exam.

Also Read: GATE Rank Required for PSUs like ONGC, IOCL

NIT Eligibility Criteria for Admission Through NIMCET

Admission through NIMCET is also possible at NITs for numerous postgraduate programs such as MCA. As per the basic eligibility criteria of NIMCET, Indian candidates who have qualified for their graduation degree in Science/IT/Technology/Engineering with a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or a 6.5 CGPA are eligible to take the NIMCET entrance exam.

NIMCET is a gateway for candidates to study MCA programmes at top NITs including, NIT Jamshedpur, NIT Agartala, and NIT Trichy.

NIT eligibility criteria differ for numerous degree levels and entrance exams. Candidates must check the eligibility criteria before applying for any of the national-level examinations in India.