The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay or IITB) is a public research university and technical institute located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a statutory body governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, which declares it an Institution of National Importance. The institute was established in 1958 as the second IIT, following a 1946 committee recommendation to set the direction for technical education in the country. Its founding was a key part of the newly independent nation's investment in scientific capacity-building. Notably, IIT Bombay was the first IIT to receive foreign assistance, with UNESCO facilitating funding from the Soviet Union.
The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, provides the legal mechanism for its governance, powers, and operations. The Act establishes a Board of Governors and a Senate to oversee its administration and academic standards. The President of India serves as the Visitor of the institute. Its core function is to provide instruction and research in engineering and technology and to award its own degrees. IIT Bombay is connected to the larger system of IITs and selects its undergraduate students through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). A recent significant change is its designation as an Institution of Eminence in 2018. The institute's name remains IIT Bombay because changing it to "IIT Mumbai" would require an amendment to the central Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, a complex legislative process, despite the city's name change to Mumbai in 1995.