[5] In 1946, a committee was set up by Sir Jogendra Singh, Member of the Viceroy's executive council, to consider the creation of higher technical institutions for the industrial development of India post World War II.

The report urged that work should start with the speedy establishment of major institutions in the four-quarters of the country with the ones in the east and the west to be set up immediately.

The classrooms, laboratories and the administrative office were housed in the historic building of the Hijli Detention Camp (now known as Shaheed Bhawan), where political revolutionaries were imprisoned during the period of British colonial rule.

[15] The Science and Technology Entrepreneurs' Park (STEP) provides infrastructure facilities to alumni seeking to start their own corporations.

[20] In addition to the main campus at Kharagpur, the institute has an extension centre at Kolkata to provide venues for continuing education programmes, distance learning courses, and guesthouse accommodation.

[22] The institute's plan for a similar branch campus of 0.81 square kilometres (200 acres) in Bhubaneswar was scrapped following rejection by the Union Human Resource and Development ministry.

The Netaji Auditorium in the main building is used for official functions and events, and doubles as a cinema theatre on weekend nights, showing films to the IIT community at subsidised rates.

The library's collection consists of books, reports, conference proceedings, back volumes of periodicals, standards, theses, micro-forms, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and audio-visual material.

The Nehru Museum of Science and Technology has over a hundred indoor exhibits that include technical models collected from institutions across India.

The campus has a water pumping station, electrical sub-station, telephone exchange, market, six restaurants, and a garbage disposal section for the daily needs of the residents.

The local community opposed the construction of a flyover from the railway station to the campus, stating that it would lead to a substantial loss of opportunity for the shops along the roads.

[36] IIT Kharagpur has a range of sporting facilities including grounds for cricket, football, hockey, volleyball, lawn tennis, badminton (indoor and outdoor); a state-of-the-art athletics tracks; and swimming pools for aquatic events.

[46] In the final year of their studies, most of the students are offered jobs in industries and other organisations through the Training and Placement section of the institute commonly known as Career Development Centre or CDC.

In August 2017, an Undergraduate Council(UG Council) was constituted by the institute under the Dean of Undergraduate Studies(Dean UGS) as its chairman and with one student representative from each department to be elected/nominated for an annual term, to assist in the process of curriculum update, assimilate student feedback on different academic policies, and forward suggestions and proposals to the institute senate.

For a dual degree involving an MBA from Vinod Gupta School of Management, the selection is made on the basis of an aptitude test of students across all engineering streams.

IIT Kharagpur will invest around ₹2.3 billion (US$27 million) for its 400-bed super speciality hospital in the campus which will impart undergraduate medical course to students.

[53] The institute offers the Continuing Education Programme (CEP) for qualified engineers and scientists to learn technologies and developments in their academic disciplines.

It hosts a range of cultural competitions and stage shows (Star-nights) headlined by leading artistes including Sunidhi Chauhan, Farhan Akhtar, Salim-Sulaiman, Vishal–Shekhar, K.K., Pritam, Kailash Kher, and Shaan.

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering organises Bitwise IIT Kharagpur, an online programming contest hosted annually in February.

Recent iterations of the car include 3D printed structures to reduce weight, dyno-tuning for improved performance, a revamped data acquisition system, and a new driver interface.

A spin-off venture from AGV, IIT Kharagpur - the San Francisco-based Auro Robotics (now acquired by RideCell), builds self-driving shuttles for university campuses in the United States.

The group conducts research into autonomics game-playing robots, specifically soccer, and takes part at global events including RoboCup and the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA) Roboworld Cup.

The school is located in Tangasole village, Salua outside the IIT Kharagpur campus, with nearly 200 students enrolled from nursery to Grade 5.

Previous guest lecturers at E-Cell events includeSanjeev Bhikchandani, Vinod Dham, Arjun Malhotra, Rajat Sharma and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

spAts organizes space-themed talks, sky gazing sessions, guest lectures, and discussion forums within IIT Kharagpur.

[109] The society organises special screenings of acclaimed independent films, conducts filmmaking workshops, and hosts guest lectures from industry professionals.

[110] Students who violate the institute's code of conduct are produced in front of the Hall Disciplinary Committee (HDC), which investigates the case and prescribes punishment if necessary.

[112] IIT Kharagpur recognizes the professional achievements of its alumni through the annual Distinguished Alumnus Award on the Institute Convocation Day.

The US-based alumni of IIT Kharagpur have started the Vision 2020 fundraiser, to provide world-class infrastructure (laboratories and equipment), attract, and retain faculty and students.

The objective of Vision 2020 is to raise a US$200 million endowment fund by 2020 for technology education, research and innovation related growth of the institute.