National Institute of Technology Patna (NIT Patna), formerly Bihar School of Engineering and Bihar College of Engineering, is a public engineering institution located in Patna in the Indian state of Bihar. It was renamed as NIT Patna, by the Government of India on 28 January 2004. NIT Patna marked its humble beginning in 1886 with the establishment of pleaders survey training school which was subsequently promoted to Bihar College of Engineering Patna in 1924. This made this institute the 6th Oldest Engineering Institute of India. It is an autonomous institute functioning directly under Ministry of Education, Government of India. History NIT Patna origin can be traced to 1886 with the establishment of a survey training school and subsequent renaming it to Bihar college of Engineering in 1900. A graduate level curriculum was introduced in 1924. It was renamed Bihar College of Engineering in 1932. In 2004 the government of India upgraded the college to National Institute of Technology (NIT) status, as the state of Bihar had lost its only Regional Engineering College (REC), located at Jamshedpur, when Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000. By 2002, the Indian government decided to upgrade all RECs to NITs, with the aim of having at least one NIT per state. Bihar College of Engineering was the first institute to be directly upgraded to NIT status. In 2007, it was granted Institute of National Importance status in accordance with the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007. Campus NIT Patna functions from a campus along Ashok Rajpath, geographically which lies on the southern bank of the river Ganges exactly opposite the point of its confluence with river Gandak. The campus lies alongside Gandhi Ghat where students usually enjoy scenic views of river Ganges. Land for a new campus, a plot, has been assigned at Sikandarpur village in Bihta, around 40 km from Patna. Earlier it was assigned at Dumri village in Bihta. Once NIT-Patna shifts to its new campus in Bihta, it will run some management courses on the present campus at Ashok Rajpath. Facilities Central Library Computer Center Student Activity center (SAC) GYM (separate for boys and girls.) College Canteens(Govt Canteen, Nescafe Canteen) TT and Badminton court with Synthetic International flooring Squash Courts Medical Center Cricket / Football Ground with stands for 1000+ students Academics Departments The institute includes the department of Architecture & Planning, Engineering departments of civil engineering, computer science &