IIT Kharagpur was born in May 1950 at Hijli, Kharagpur, in West Bengal, after first operating from a Calcutta address, according to its about page. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad formally inaugurated it on 18 August 1951, and Sir J.C. Ghosh was its first Director. IIT Delhi’s about page notes that the first IIT was set up at Kharagpur in 1950 on the recommendation of the Sarkar Committee.
An Act of Parliament passed on 15 September 1956 declared the institute an institute of national importance, and it was given the status of an autonomous university. Its first academic session began in August 1951 with 224 students and 42 teachers. The campus spreads over 2,100 acres, and the NIRF 2025 data submission reported 8,494 undergraduate, 3,542 postgraduate and 3,635 full time PhD students for 2023-24. Prof. Suman Chakraborty, of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, became Director with effect from 23 June 2025.