SRM Institute of Science and Technology

Is SRM IST publicly traded?
No. SRM IST is a non-profit deemed university governed by the SRM IST Trust and Valliammai Society. It has no shareholders or stock listing.

Who owns SRM IST?
The university is governed by trusts associated with the founding Paarivendhar family. Founder-Chancellor T.R. Paarivendhar leads the institution and the wider SRM Group.

When was SRM founded?
SRM began in 1985 as SRM Engineering College in Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu. It received deemed university status in 2002.

How many students attend SRM IST?
More than 50,000 students are enrolled across the university's campuses and programs, making it one of the largest private universities in India.

How many campuses does SRM have?
The deemed university operates campuses in Kattankulathur, Ramapuram, Vadapalani, Tiruchirappalli, and Delhi-NCR (Modinagar). The related SRM University AP and SRM University Sonepat operate as separate state private universities.

What is SRM known for?
SRM IST is known for engineering and technology programs, the SRMJEEE entrance examination, its on-campus teaching hospital and medical school, and one of the largest enrollments among Indian private universities.

T.R. Paarivendhar founded SRM Engineering College in 1985 in Kattankulathur, then a rural area south of Chennai. The college was affiliated with the University of Madras and served the growing demand for engineering seats in Tamil Nadu during the expansion of private technical education in the 1980s.

Through the 1990s, the group added institutions in medicine, dentistry, nursing, and management, converting the single engineering college into a multi-disciplinary campus. The SRM Medical College and its attached hospital gave the group a health sciences presence unusual among engineering-led private universities.

Deemed university status arrived in 2002, and the institution adopted the name SRM Institute of Science and Technology. The change enabled the SRMJEEE entrance examination and autonomy over academic programs. Enrollment grew rapidly through the 2000s as engineering demand peaked nationally.

Geographic expansion followed. Chennai city campuses at Ramapuram and Vadapalani and a Tiruchirappalli campus widened the Tamil Nadu footprint, while the Modinagar campus near Delhi took the brand north. In 2017, SRM University AP opened in Amaravati under Andhra Pradesh's private university legislation, designed with international university partnerships. SRM University in Sonepat, Haryana, added a second northern campus.

By the mid-2020s, the university's enrollment exceeded 50,000 students. Investment in research infrastructure produced rising publication output and national research funding, supporting top-15 NIRF placements in the universities category.

SRM has faced periodic controversy connected to admissions practices. A 2017 criminal investigation involving allegations tied to admissions brought national attention to the institution, generating litigation and media coverage. The university continued operations without loss of deemed status, and the matter was addressed through the courts.

Student protests over fees, attendance enforcement, and campus administration have occurred at intervals. Fee refund disputes during the pandemic affected the university alongside other residential institutions and were resolved under regulatory guidance.

The UGC has periodically examined off-campus centers operated by deemed universities, a compliance area that applies to SRM's multi-location structure. No action threatening the university's status has been recorded as of November 2026.