NIT stands for National Institute of Technology. These are premier institutions which impart the skills and vocational knowledge in the fields of engineering and technology. These were originally known as REC but during 2002 they were upgraded to their present status under the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

The Raipur NIT was initially established as the Government College of Engineering and Technology in 1956. Covering an area of about one hundred acres, the college campus has six hostel blocks, residential quarters for teaching and non-teaching staff, a bank, a PWD and electricity office within the campus, a health centre and dispensary and a guest house apart from the main college building where the classes are held. The Raipur railway station is situated within five kilometers of the campus so that it is easily accessible to the students. Additionally, there is also a local railway station adjacent to the college. The Mana Airport is within twelve kilometers of the campus.

The main college building is very spacious covering over sixty two thousand square meters. It has three stories with a 23 m long central tower. There are 35 lecture halls for theoretical classes and 13 studios for practical classes.

The Raipur NIT offers both graduate and post-graduate courses. There are twelve full time graduate degree courses and six full time courses for the post-graduate degree. There are also part time degree courses designed especially for working professionals.

The institute celebrated its golden jubilee in 2005 with gala festivities. The programmes included a scintillating performance by the famous singer Udit Narayan (of Bollywood fame) and his troupe. Other cultural events and fun festivities saw the alumnus taking an equally enthusiastic part with the present students.

The Indian government has woken up to the potential for excellence that the NITs have. The NIT Bill once passed through the parliament will grant greater autonomous powers to the National Institutes of Technology. These new amendments are expected to be implemented from the academic year of 2007.

It must be remembered, that like most other educational institutions in India, NITs too have to implement vigorous changes in order to com up to the international standards and attract foreign students and researchers. The following points lay out a course for an over all improvement of these institutes:

• The curriculum must be modernized and kept up to date with the new researches and improvements in the rest of the world. One way to do this is to revise the syllabi regularly and making it more student-friendly. The curriculum should be flexible with the students having the option to choose the subjects that interest them.
• The quota system is often unfair to many students. This unfair policy should be revised in order to prevent brighter students from leaving the country.
• The IITs are the premier institutes recognized all over the world. In order to bring the NITs at par with the IITs, recruiting best possible faculty members is of utmost importance. With the NIT Bill coming into force, the salaries of the faculty members can be increased thereby luring better equipped personnel to the teaching jobs. Also, technological improvements will enable things such as video conferences and e-teaching.