Quick Verdict
IIT Delhi wins on Faculty and Academics. It has nearly double the faculty strength of IIT BHU Varanasi (687 vs 381), a higher NIRF rank, and a longer unbroken history operating specifically as an IIT. IIT BHU Varanasi counters with a much older academic pedigree overall — it traces back to 1919 — but one source specifically groups it among IITs still "building... full faculty strength," which points to IIT Delhi having the more mature academic setup today.
Snapshot
| Metric | IIT Delhi | IIT BHU Varanasi |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1961, established directly as an IIT, one of the original four source | 1919 as the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University; converted into IIT (BHU) Varanasi only in 2012 source |
| Faculty count | 687 source | 381 source |
| Student count | 12,543 source | 7,980 source |
| Students per faculty member (calculated from the two rows above) | ~18.3 | ~20.9 |
| Institute budget | ₹904.91 crore (~US$95 million) source | Not listed in sourced data (marked N/a in the same table) source |
| Current Director | Rangan Banerjee, since 15 February 2022 source | Amit Patra source |
Note: Wikipedia separately states that, IIT-system-wide, "the faculty-to-student ratio in the IITs is between 1:6 and 1:8," with a Standing Committee-mandated floor of 1:9 per department source. The per-institute faculty and student counts above imply notably higher ratios (roughly 1:18 and 1:21) for these two specific institutes than that system-wide figure suggests — a discrepancy worth flagging rather than reconciling, since both numbers come from the same source page but don't line up cleanly.
Detailed Analysis
IIT Delhi. Located in Delhi, India's capital, IIT Delhi was one of the four original IITs established on the Sarkar Committee's recommendation, set up in 1961 alongside Bombay (1958), Madras (1959), and Kanpur (1959) source. With 687 faculty members against 12,543 students, it has the larger academic workforce of the two institutes in absolute terms source. It describes itself as one of the "Twenty Three IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technology in India," and has been led by Director Rangan Banerjee since February 2022 source. In NIRF's 2025 rankings, one source places IIT Delhi at rank 2 source.
IIT BHU Varanasi. IIT (BHU) Varanasi has real institutional depth — it operated as the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, from 1919, decades before most IITs existed, and was only formally absorbed into the IIT system in 2012 source. With 381 faculty and 7,980 students, its faculty base is roughly 55% the size of IIT Delhi's source. One source's list of institutes still "building permanent campuses and full faculty strength" includes IIT Varanasi (BHU) alongside several of the 2008-era IITs, despite BHU's much older founding date — suggesting that its transition and expansion specifically as an "IIT" is comparatively recent, even though the parent institution itself is a century old source. Its current Director, Amit Patra, has framed the institute's academic direction around "becoming a beacon of modern interdisciplinary technological advancement," with an explicit push toward more interdisciplinary research and industry collaboration going forward source.
Trend. IIT BHU is explicitly signaling growth intent — more interdisciplinary programs, more industry and international collaboration — but its own leadership frames this as a forward-looking goal rather than a present-day strength, whereas IIT Delhi's academic scale (faculty count, budget, ranking) is already established.
Verdict
IIT Delhi is the stronger choice for Faculty and Academics today, on the strength of a larger faculty base, a bigger institutional budget, and a higher NIRF rank. IIT BHU Varanasi is a credible runner-up with a genuinely old academic lineage and an explicit institutional push toward interdisciplinary growth, and a reader should lean toward it instead if they specifically value that century-old campus heritage and are comfortable betting on an institute that is still actively building out its faculty strength as an IIT rather than one that already has it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which institute has more faculty, IIT Delhi or IIT BHU Varanasi?
IIT Delhi, with 687 faculty members versus 381 at IIT BHU Varanasi source.
Q: Is IIT BHU Varanasi actually older than IIT Delhi?
As a parent institution, yes — it dates to 1919 — but it only became a formal IIT in 2012, decades after IIT Delhi was founded directly as an IIT in 1961 source.
Q: Is IIT BHU still building up its faculty strength?
One source groups IIT Varanasi (BHU) among institutes "still building permanent campuses and full faculty strength" source.
Q: Who leads each institute currently?
IIT Delhi is led by Director Rangan Banerjee (since February 2022) and IIT BHU Varanasi by Director Amit Patra source source.
Q: What is the system-wide faculty-to-student ratio across all IITs?
Wikipedia states it is generally between 1:6 and 1:8, with a mandated floor of 1:9 per department — though this figure doesn't cleanly match the specific faculty/student counts listed for these two institutes source.
Q: Does IIT Delhi have a bigger budget than IIT BHU Varanasi?
IIT Delhi's is listed at ₹904.91 crore; no comparable figure is available for IIT BHU Varanasi in the sourced data source.
Q: Is IIT BHU emphasizing any particular academic direction going forward?
Yes — its Director has stated an intent to give "more and more emphasis to inter-disciplinary research and collaboration with the industry and international peers" source.
Related
For the complete picture beyond Faculty and Academics -- placements, academics, campus life, and more -- see the full IIT Delhi vs IIT BHU Varanasi comparison.