The Academy is registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 and is an autonomous institution supported partly through grant-in-aid by Department of Science & Technology,[1] Government of India.

INAE functions as an apex body and promotes the practice of engineering and technology and the related sciences for their application to solving problems of national importance.

The Academy also provides a forum for futuristic planning for the country's development, requiring engineering and technological inputs and brings together specialists from such fields as may be necessary for comprehensive solutions to the needs of the country.

The Indian National Academy of Engineering was registered on 20 April 1987 on the recommendation of the Ministry of Civil Supplies.

The Academy was formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on 11 April 1988 at a Foundation Function in New Delhi.