This institute or the NIFT was established by the Ministry of Textiles. This institute promotes the interests of people wanting to work up their way in the ever emerging domain of fashion worldwide. This institute provides authenticated degrees to the students as it has been fully recognized to award them via the Parliament Act of India of the year of 2006. The position of NIFT in the global market has today been one of the most important institutions; it has been working on the top today imparting the best quality knowledge in the fashion industry.

The NIFT as an institute has spread its wings and functionality by its 12 centers which are managed independently though but are quite dedicated to the common name. These centers are at different locations of India like the capital city of New Delhi (which works as the headquarters), Mumbai, Kolkata, Shilong, Kannur, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Gandhinagar, Bangalore, Chennai, Raebareli and Patna. The other feather to the cap of NIFT was attached with the opening of the first international institute center in Mauritius.

The different types of academic recognitions provided by the institute are:

For the undergraduate courses: the institute offers B.Des i.e. Bachelor of Design in the areas of Fashion design, textile design, accessory design, knitwear design, leather design and fashion communication. Also the other courses for the undergraduate domain are B.F.Tech i.e. Bachelor of Fashion Technology in the discipline of Apparel Production

For the post graduation courses: the institute in this domain offers the courses of M.Des i.e. Masters of Design and M.F.Tech i.e. Masters of Fashion Technology.

The institute offers a management degree of M.F.M i.e. Masters of Fashion Management. This is a core management degree.

The admission to the institution is by the entrance exam conducted by the institution differently for each of the courses. A candidate at one time can apply for a single course via the admission form that is made available by the institute as and when the admissions for a new academic batch begins. These entrance tests are quite varied and take into account the overall ability and understanding of the candidate. A special managerial ability test is taken for courses of the field of Management, production and technology and a special round of GD for all master programs.