The National Institute of Technology, Warangal (NIT Warangal or NITW) is a public technical university located in Warangal, Telangana, India. It is one of the thirty-one National Institutes of Technology recognised as Institutes of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007. NIT Warangal was the first among the Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) established in India and is widely regarded as one of the country's leading institutions for engineering education and research.
| Name | National Institute of Technology, Warangal |
|---|---|
| Former name | Regional Engineering College, Warangal (1959–2002) |
| Type | Public technical university |
| Status | Institute of National Importance |
| Location | Warangal, Telangana, India |
| Established | 1959 |
| Affiliation | Ministry of Education, Government of India |
| Founding inauguration | By Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru |
NIT Warangal was set up in 1959 as the first of a chain of Regional Engineering Colleges intended to be jointly funded and operated by the Government of India and the respective state governments. The institute was originally established as the Regional Engineering College, Warangal (RECW), serving primarily the then state of Andhra Pradesh while also admitting students from other states under a national quota system. Following the recognition of RECs as Institutes of National Importance, the college was upgraded and renamed the National Institute of Technology, Warangal in 2002, becoming an autonomous institution funded directly by the central government.
The campus is situated on the outskirts of Warangal, in the Hanamkonda area of Telangana. It is a fully residential campus housing academic departments, central facilities, hostels for students, and faculty and staff quarters. Warangal, a historic city that was the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty, lies about 150 kilometres north-east of Hyderabad and is well connected by rail and road.
NIT Warangal offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes across engineering, sciences, humanities, and management. Admissions to undergraduate engineering programmes are conducted through the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) under the Central Seat Allocation Board, while postgraduate admissions in engineering primarily use the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).
NIT Warangal is administered under the framework of the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007, which is overseen by the NIT Council under the Ministry of Education. The institute is headed by a Director, supported by a Board of Governors, a Senate of faculty members, and a Registrar handling administration.
As the earliest established REC, NIT Warangal occupies a foundational place in the history of organised technical education in independent India. Its alumni have contributed widely to industry, academia, public administration, and entrepreneurship in India and abroad. The institute is consistently ranked among the top engineering institutions in India in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by the Ministry of Education.