The Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) is a public technical university located in Bhopal, the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is one of the thirty-one National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in India and has been declared an Institute of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007. The institute is named after Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India's first Minister of Education.
| Name | Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology |
|---|---|
| Former name | Maulana Azad College of Technology (MACT) |
| Type | Public technical university |
| Status | Institute of National Importance |
| Location | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Affiliation | Ministry of Education, Government of India |
| Named after | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad |
The institute was originally established in 1960 as the Maulana Azad College of Technology (MACT), one of the Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) set up jointly by the Government of India and state governments to provide engineering education across the country. As an REC, it was a joint venture between the Government of India and the Government of Madhya Pradesh, and was affiliated to local universities for the award of degrees.
In 2002, MACT was upgraded to a National Institute of Technology by the Government of India, becoming a fully centrally funded technical institute under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (now the Ministry of Education). With the passage of the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007, MANIT was formally accorded the status of Institute of National Importance, granting it autonomy in academic and administrative matters.
The campus is situated in Bhopal and is a residential institution, with hostels for students, faculty housing, academic blocks, laboratories, a central library, and sports facilities. The campus lies near the Upper Lake area of Bhopal, one of the city's prominent geographical landmarks.
MANIT offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes across engineering, architecture, planning, sciences, humanities, and management. The principal undergraduate programme is the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), along with a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) and a Bachelor of Planning (B.Plan.). Postgraduate offerings include Master of Technology (M.Tech.), Master of Architecture (M.Arch.), Master of Planning (M.Plan.), Master of Computer Applications (MCA), Master of Business Administration (MBA), and doctoral (Ph.D.) programmes.
Admission to undergraduate engineering programmes is conducted through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main), with seat allocation handled by the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA). Postgraduate admissions are based on examinations such as GATE, CCMT, CAT, and NIMCET, depending on the programme.
As a centrally funded technical institute, MANIT is governed under the framework of the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007, and is administered by a Board of Governors. The Director serves as the principal academic and executive officer of the institute. The NIT Council, chaired by the Union Minister of Education, is the apex body coordinating policy across all NITs.
MANIT is among the older engineering institutes in central India and forms part of the national network of NITs that, alongside the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), constitute the principal tier of publicly funded technical higher education in the country. The institute contributes to engineering, architectural, and planning education in the central Indian region and undertakes research and consultancy in collaboration with industry and government agencies.