I am the only person that dosent agree wid ramya_kapoor
Look Agreed that NIT still dosent have that "Brand Value" But still It'll be the case in nxt 3-4 yrs or so. Surely if two colleges of same status are present then one would choose a Govt. one rather than a pvt one ? rite ? Also these NITs have being converted fron REC just a few years bak So It will take time to build the infra and provide facilities.
Example : MANIT has in progress a Sports Complex wic is better than any IIT (see the proposed graphic @ website of MANIT ) They are also improving their website,etc. In a 2-3 year span MANIT would reach the levels of Trichy (if not better than it )
ALSO Most Important IITs are IITs because of the STUDENTS (Best of them ) and Govt pays huge funds to them. If u bring all the IIT students to a State coll. Then it would be good as an IIT !
Now many good students are coming to NITs so the scene would change in 2-3 years time span. tho i agree wid the Brand "IIT" for Sure