The inception of the Mechanical Engineering Department may be traced back to 1921 when a diploma course in Mechanical Engineering started in this Institute. The first degree course in Mechanical Engineering started from 18th July, 1930. Moving through a few decades, the Department of Mechanical Engineering consolidated to its present condition offering 10-Semester Dual Degree Course with an approximate intake of 90 students annually and a 4-Semester Postgraduate Course with an intake of 27 students annually. Also a number of research scholars are registered for their Ph.D degree on full time and part time basis.

The Department provides ample laboratory facilities and hands-on training to the Dual Degree students both in the conventional subjects and also in the emerging fields of specialization.

The Department has a number of well developed laboratories some of which are mentioned below:

1. Heat Power Engineering Lab
2. Internal Combustion Engine Lab
3. Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Lab
4. Machine Tools Lab
5. Mechanical Measurements and Control Lab
6. Vibration Lab
7. Tribology and Terotechnology Lab
8. Non-traditional Machining Lab
9. Computer Lab
10. Thermal Simulation Lab
11. Flexible Manufacturing Systems Lab
12. Composite Materials Lab
13. Solar Power and Renewable Energy Lab
14. Manufacturing Science Lab
15. Non-destructing Testing Lab
16. Quality Engineering and Reliability Lab
17. Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer Lab
18. CFD and Heat Transfer Lab

The laboratories with serial number (1) to (9) serve the purpose of training the students in the conventional and basic courses of Mechanical Engineering; while the rest are organized to provide hands on training to the students in the emerging field of specialization. Each theoretical course is backed up by sufficient laboratory experiments. The students of this department may well claim the honour of being trained in the most sophisticated and state-of the art laboratories available in the country.

The Department gets the support of the faculty members of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics Department who teaches the subjects like Strength of Materials, Fluid Mechanics, Dynamics of Machinery, Engineering Mechanics, Basic Engineering Drawing and Machine Drawing. The Central Workshop facilities provide hands-on training in the conventional machining and other traditional trades like Smithy, Forging, Welding, Foundry and Pattern Making. A Steam Power Laboratory is there to provide training to the departmental students so that they get acquainted with the technologies available for steam power generation. Recently, the laboratories have been upgraded with new and state of the art equipments to meet the requirements of the industry. The faculty members of this department also take different theory and laboratory classes for other sister departments of this institute like Electrical Engineering, Architecture, Metallurgy and Mining Engineering.

Four semester Postgraduate Courses are offered by the Department for regular students who get enrolled after qualifying the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) examination. At present there are three fields of specialization offered in the Postgraduate stream; namely, Heat Power Engineering, Production Engineering and Machine Design. The postgraduate students are mostly trained in the laboratories meant for emerging field of specialization. They are assigned suitable project and thesis work for one and half year duration related to industrial and academic problems which are relevant to the present day trends of technical education. The research facilities leading to Ph.D. degrees are available for scholars registered with our Institute and there are certain dedicated research facilities allotted for this purpose. The research facilities comprise of computer facilities and equipment gadgets in various laboratories in the emerging fields, library facilities and the central workshop of the Institute.

The Departmental faculty consists of erudite teachers who actively pursue research work of original nature. Almost, all the members of the faculty have earned to their credit quite a number of praiseworthy research papers published in highly reputed peer reviewed international journals. Some of the senior faculty members are engaged as Fellows of renowned International societies like American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, etc.

The Department organizes Seminars and Workshops very frequently on the state of the art areas. Also, renowned personalities from the academia and Industry from India and Overseas are often invited to deliver lectures on the state of the art topics. Industrial visits are also organized to make the students aware of the recent developments in the industry.

Most of the students get employment in the final year of the course through campus interviews and many opt for higher studies after qualifying examinations like GATE, CAT and GRE. Many postgraduate students get jobs before completion of their studies in the public sector companies. Some of the students also opt for Ph.D in this institute and in IITs.