IIT Varanasi

asi has a residential and co-educational campus within the larger BHU campus which is spread over nearly 1,300 acres (5.3 km2) at the southern end of Varanasi on the banks of the River Ganges. In 1971, three faculties of BHU viz., Banaras Engineering College (BENCO), College of Mining & Metallurgy (MINMET) and College of Technology (TECHNO) were merged to form the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU). IT-BHU was designated as an IIT by The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2011 which was passed by the Lok Sabha on 24 March 2011 and by the Rajya Sabha on 30 April 2012. The President signed the Bill on 20 June 2012 and was notified in the Gazette of India on 21 June 2012. History

IIT-Varanasi was formerly known as the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU). Its establishment is intimately linked with that of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The first convocation ceremony at BHU was held on 19 January 1919. The Chancellor of the University, Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar of Mysore who had come to preside over and address the convocation, performed the opening ceremony of the Banaras Engineering College (BENCO) Workshop buildings. An Artisan Course was started on 11 February 1919. The Department of Geology was started under BENCO in 1920. Courses in Mining and Metallurgy were introduced by the Geology Department. The Department of Industrial Chemistry was started in July 1921. In 1923, Mining and Metallurgy was established as a separate department and in 1944 it was raised to the status of a college forming the College of Mining and Metallurgy (MINMET).