Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Wednesday he will make an appeal by writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to rename the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay to IIT Mumbai. “I will write to the PM and Union HRD minister requesting them to consider our demand for renaming IIT Bombay as IIT Mumbai," said the CM.
The decision comes amid Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray’s sharp criticism of Union minister Jitendra Singh’s remarks - "Thank God, IIT Bombay has not changed its name to IIT Mumbai,"
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray on Wednesday said Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh's remark on not changing IIT Bombay's name to IIT Mumbai shows the government’s mindset.
“As far as IIT Bombay is concerned, thank God it still is this name. You have not changed it to Mumbai. So that's another compliment to you. And also true for Madras. It remains IIT Madras,” the minister had said, addressing a function at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay on Monday.
Responding to the minister's remark, Thackeray said it clearly appears to be a symbol of the government's mindset.
IIT Bombay has recently bagged 71st spot in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026 and Rank 235 in the QS World University Rankings Sustainability 2026.
QS Asia University Rankings 2026: Top 10 Indian institutes
- Rank 59: IIT Delhi
- Rank 64: IISc Bangalore
- Rank 70: IIT Madras
- Rank 71: IIT Bombay
- Rank 77: IIT Kanpur
- Rank 77: IIT Kharagpur
- Rank 114: IIT Roorkee
- Rank 115: IIT Guwahati
- Rank 156: Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore
- Rank 206: Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal.
-With PTI inputs
