Quick Verdict
On Faculty and Academics, IIT Delhi -- one of India's original IITs, based in Delhi -- comes out ahead of IIT Indore, a "2nd Generation" IIT set up in 2008-2009 in Madhya Pradesh. IIT Delhi has more than triple IIT Indore's faculty count and a stronger, more consistent NIRF Engineering ranking, and comparative sources describe older IITs' faculty as "experienced and sufficient" against newer IITs facing "shortage with lesser experience" (cracku.in).
Snapshot
| Metric | IIT Delhi | IIT Indore |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty count | 687 | 204 |
| Student count | 12,543 | 2,323 |
| Raw faculty-to-student ratio (calculated from above) | ~1:18 | ~1:11 |
| Total B.Tech seats (approx.) | 1,086 | 370 |
| NIRF Engineering Rank | 2 | 12 (one other source says 9 -- sources disagree) |
| NIRF Overall Score (one cited source) | 88.08 | 59.88 |
| Annual budget | ₹904.91 crore | Not available in sourced facts |
| Founded / became IIT | 1961 (Wikipedia; one source says 1963) | 2009 |
| Shiksha "Faculty & Course" rating | 4.1 (as listed on Shiksha's comparison page) | Not available in sourced facts |
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, infinitylearn.com, shiksha.com
Detailed Analysis
IIT Delhi's faculty base is considerably larger in absolute terms: 687 faculty members against IIT Indore's 204, per Wikipedia's compiled IIT data (en.wikipedia.org). Interestingly, dividing each institute's own faculty count into its own student count gives IIT Indore a tighter raw ratio (about 1 faculty member per 11 students) than IIT Delhi (about 1 per 18) -- though both figures sit well above the general IIT system's stated faculty-to-student ratio of "between 1:6 and 1:8," with the IIT Council's Standing Committee prescribing a lower limit of 1:9 (en.wikipedia.org). That gap between the system-wide target and the raw institute-level numbers isn't explained in the sourced facts -- it may reflect how postgraduate and doctoral students are counted, or simply that these two institutes' current ratios differ from the system average -- so it's worth reading the raw ratios above as a rough indicator rather than an authoritative like-for-like figure.
Beyond headcounts, comparative sources are fairly direct about the qualitative gap: "old IITs continue to hold a stronger reputation and industry connection that new IITs are still working to achieve," and specifically on faculty, new IITs "still lag in infrastructure, faculty expertise, and alumni network" relative to older ones (cracku.in). A side-by-side breakdown from the same source describes old-IIT faculty as "Experienced and sufficient" and new-IIT faculty as facing a "Shortage with lesser experience," while also noting new IITs are "still developing" and picking up pace despite "faculty shortages" affecting their brand value (cracku.in). Separately, ranking commentary notes that IITs from the 2008-2009 and 2015-2016 cohorts -- which includes IIT Indore -- "are still building permanent campuses and full faculty strength" (infinitylearn.com), suggesting the faculty gap is understood as a maturing-institution issue rather than a permanent one.
On the ranking side, IIT Delhi holds NIRF Engineering Rank 2 with an Overall Score of 88.08, versus IIT Indore's rank of 9 and score of 59.88 in the same table (infinitylearn.com); a separate Wikipedia-compiled table instead lists IIT Indore's Engineering rank as 12, not 9 -- the two sources disagree on the precise figure, though both place it well behind IIT Delhi's rank of 2 (en.wikipedia.org). On curriculum, IIT Indore does show concrete, structured academic offerings: its Academic Office describes itself as "the backbone of IIT Indore's academic ecosystem, ensuring the efficient conduct of undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes," and the institute runs specific five-year BTech+MTech dual-degree tracks, including Electrical Engineering with Communication and Signal Processing (since AY 2014-15) and with VLSI Design and Nanoelectronics (since AY 2017-18), plus Mechanical Engineering dual degrees with Production and Industrial Engineering (since AY 2014-15) and Mechanical Systems Design (since AY 2018-19) (academic.iiti.ac.in, academic.iiti.ac.in/academic_program.php). No equivalent list of specific dual-degree programmes for IIT Delhi appears in the sourced facts.
Verdict
Winner: IIT Delhi, runner-up IIT Indore -- Delhi's much larger faculty base, stronger and more consistent NIRF Engineering rank, and its standing as an "old IIT" with a reputation for "experienced and sufficient" faculty give it the edge on this specific concern. A reader should still lean toward IIT Indore if they value a smaller, more tightly-knit academic environment or a specific structured dual-degree program (like the Electrical or Mechanical Engineering BTech+MTech tracks) that IIT Indore documents clearly and IIT Delhi's sourced facts don't address.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which institute has more faculty?
A: IIT Delhi, with 687 faculty members versus IIT Indore's 204 (en.wikipedia.org).
Q: Which institute has a better faculty-to-student ratio?
A: On raw counts, IIT Indore (~1:11) versus IIT Delhi (~1:18) -- though both differ from the IIT system's stated general target of 1:6 to 1:8 (en.wikipedia.org).
Q: Is IIT Indore's faculty considered less experienced than IIT Delhi's?
A: Comparative sources describe old-IIT faculty (including Delhi's) as "experienced and sufficient" and new-IIT faculty (including Indore's) as facing a "shortage with lesser experience" (cracku.in).
Q: What is IIT Delhi's NIRF Engineering rank?
A: 2, per multiple sourced tables (infinitylearn.com, en.wikipedia.org).
Q: What is IIT Indore's NIRF Engineering rank?
A: Sources disagree -- one lists it as 9, another as 12 -- but both place it well behind IIT Delhi's rank of 2.
Q: Does IIT Indore offer dual-degree programs?
A: Yes -- sourced facts list BTech+MTech dual degrees in Electrical Engineering (with Communication and Signal Processing, or VLSI Design and Nanoelectronics) and Mechanical Engineering (with Production and Industrial Engineering, or Mechanical Systems Design) (academic.iiti.ac.in/academic_program.php).
Q: Is there similar dual-degree program data for IIT Delhi?
A: No -- the sourced facts don't list specific dual-degree programs for IIT Delhi.
Q: What is IIT Indore's annual budget?
A: Not available in the sourced facts; IIT Delhi's is listed as ₹904.91 crore (en.wikipedia.org).
Related
For the complete picture beyond Faculty and Academics -- placements, academics, campus life, and more -- see the full IIT Delhi vs IIT Indore comparison.