CSAB 2026 IIIT Dharwad Cutoff – Branch-wise Ranks in SR1/SR2

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Dharwad was established in 2015 under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme of the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka and an industry partner, and functions under the academic mentorship of IIT Dharwad — a distinguishing advantage that sets it apart from several other newer IIITs mentored by NITs. Despite this strong mentorship and Karnataka's reputation as one of India's leading IT and engineering education hubs, IIIT Dharwad remains newer than the original five IIITs (Allahabad, Hyderabad, Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Kancheepuram), and this shows up in JoSAA and CSAB counselling patterns.

A meaningfully larger share of IIIT Dharwad's seats, particularly in Electronics & Communication Engineering and its newer Data Science & Artificial Intelligence program, tend to remain unfilled after JoSAA or become vacant through subsequent withdrawals, compared to institutes like IIIT Hyderabad where CSAB Special Round rarely has any meaningful impact. This isn't a quality concern — IIIT Dharwad benefits from IIT Dharwad's academic oversight, a modern curriculum, and proximity to Karnataka's broader tech ecosystem including Bengaluru — it simply reflects that newer institutes established under the 2013-17 PPP expansion take time to build the same first-choice pull among JoSAA candidates that the original IIITs have accumulated over decades.

Why This Is Genuinely Good News for CSAB Candidates

For candidates in the broad mid-range CRL band — roughly 25,000 to 65,000 depending on branch and category — IIIT Dharwad represents a strong CSAB target among IIIT-tagged institutes, arguably one of the better ones in the newer cohort given its Karnataka location and IIT mentorship. IIIT Dharwad has, in past cycles, shown noticeable rank movement between JoSAA's final closing rank and what eventually clears in CSAB SR1/SR2, particularly in ECE and DSAI, giving genuinely interested candidates a real shot at securing a seat here through the Special Round.

That said, exact vacancy numbers shift every year depending on how many candidates who accepted an IIIT Dharwad seat in JoSAA choose to withdraw hoping for a better NIT or IIIT elsewhere. Always check the live seat matrix on csab.nic.in once registration opens rather than assuming last year's exact pattern will repeat.

If your CRL rank falls in the mid-range band where the older IIITs and Tier-1/2 NITs are out of reach but you'd still value a focused, IIT-mentored CSE/ECE/DSAI education, IIIT Dharwad deserves a prominent spot in your CSAB choice list. Rank your genuinely preferred branch here above weaker alternatives elsewhere — the CSAB matching algorithm always tries your highest-ranked eligible preference first, so there's no downside to placing a realistic, desirable option high.

CSAB registration closed on August 3, 2026, and the SR1 (Special Round 1) result was declared on August 6. The SR2 result was declared on August 12, 2026 — check the current vacancy position for IIIT Dharwad under the Seat Matrix section on csab.nic.in — this check is particularly worthwhile here, since vacancy figures at newer PPP-model IIITs like Dharwad genuinely shift meaningfully between SR1 and SR2. Pair that with our CSAB college predictor for a rank-based estimate specific to your category and quota.

Comparing IIIT Dharwad to Other PPP-Model IIITs

IIIT Dharwad sits alongside IIIT Kota, IIIT Una, IIIT Kalyani, and several other newer institutes under the PPP scheme, all sharing a broadly similar though not identical CSAB vacancy pattern. Dharwad's IIT mentorship and Karnataka location generally give it a slight edge in demand over some of these peers, so when comparing across the newer-generation IIITs, weigh recent placement statistics, mentor-institute quality, and location alongside rank data rather than relying on the IIIT tag alone.