Fests · IIT fest calendar 2026-27 · Updated 8 October 2026
Four IIT fests have confirmed dates for the 2026-27 season so far: Thomso at IIT Roorkee (9 to 11 October 2026), Techfest (16 to 18 December) and Mood Indigo (21 to 24 December) at IIT Bombay, and Techkriti at IIT Kanpur (28 to 31 January 2027). IIT Delhi's Rendezvous has already run (28 September to 1 October 2026). Antaragni, Saarang, Shaastra, Spring Fest, Alcheringa and Tryst have not announced dates yet. Sources: thomso.in, techfest.org, Mood Indigo on Instagram, techkriti.org, rendezvous-iitd.org.
This page replaces our earlier 2026 calendar, which listed the January 2026 fests. Those editions are over. Below is every major IIT fest in calendar order for October 2026 to March 2027, with a confirmed date only where the fest or the institute has published one. Everywhere else we show "TBA" and the window the fest used last time, with a link to where that previous date came from.
When are the IIT fests in 2026-27?
The table runs in calendar order. "Confirmed" means the date appears on the fest's own website, its official Instagram account or an institute page. "Usual window" is not a prediction we invented: it is the date of the previous edition, linked to its source, so you can plan a rough month until the fest announces.
| Fest | IIT | Type | 2026-27 dates | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Techniche | Guwahati | Technical | Late August 2026 (finals on 28 and 29 August) | Over | techniche.org.in |
| Rendezvous | Delhi | Cultural | 28 Sept to 1 Oct 2026 | Over | rendezvous-iitd.org |
| Thomso | Roorkee | Cultural | 9 to 11 Oct 2026 | Confirmed | thomso.in |
| Antaragni | Kanpur | Cultural | TBA. Usual window: October (2025 edition: 9 to 12 Oct 2025) | Not announced | antaragni.in; IIT Kanpur, 2025 |
| Techfest | Bombay | Technical | 16 to 18 Dec 2026 (campus stay 15 to 19 Dec) | Confirmed by published schedule | techfest.org |
| Mood Indigo | Bombay | Cultural | 21 to 24 Dec 2026 | Confirmed | @iitbombay.moodi, 6 Oct 2026 |
| Shaastra | Madras | Technical | TBA. Usual window: 2 to 6 January (2026 edition: 2 to 6 Jan 2026) | Not announced | shaastra.org; IIT Madras, 2026 |
| Saarang | Madras | Cultural | TBA. Usual window: early January (2026 edition: 8 to 12 Jan 2026) | Not announced | IIT Madras, 2026 |
| Elan & nVision | Hyderabad | Techno-cultural | TBA. Usual window: January (2026 edition: 9 to 11 Jan 2026) | Not announced | IIT Hyderabad, 2026 |
| Kshitij | Kharagpur | Techno-management | TBA. Usual window: mid January (2026 edition: 16 to 18 Jan 2026) | Not announced | Telegraph, 2 Jan 2026 |
| Spring Fest | Kharagpur | Cultural | TBA. Usual window: late January (2025 edition: 24 to 26 Jan 2025) | Not announced | Avenue Mail, 2024 |
| Alcheringa | Guwahati | Cultural | TBA. Usual window: end of January | Not announced | Wikipedia |
| Techkriti | Kanpur | Technical | 28 to 31 Jan 2027 | Confirmed | techkriti.org |
| Tryst | Delhi | Technical | TBA. Usual window: late Feb to early Mar (2026 edition: 27 Feb to 1 Mar 2026) | Not announced | IIT Delhi CAIC |
| Cognizance | Roorkee | Technical | TBA. Usual window: mid March (2026 edition: 13 to 15 Mar 2026) | Not announced | cognizance.org.in |
Two rows need a note. Techfest has not posted a headline "save the date", but its own site sets the dates through its schedule: the official accommodation page says "Accommodation will be available from December, 15th 6AM until December, 19th 10AM", and the competition finals published on techfest.org sit on 16 to 18 December (details in our Techfest 2026 guide). Techkriti has moved: the 2026 edition ran from 19 to 22 March (IIT Kanpur), while the Techkriti FAQ now says "Techkriti ’27 will be held from 28th to 31st January 2027 at IIT Kanpur."
What is the IIT Delhi fest in 2026?
IIT Delhi runs two big fests. Rendezvous, the cultural fest, is the one most people mean. Its 2026 edition ran from 28 September to 1 October 2026 under the theme "A Riot Of Fusions", as the Rendezvous website still shows. So if you are searching for an IIT Delhi fest still to come in 2026, there isn't one: the next IIT Delhi fest is the technical fest, Tryst.
Tryst has no 2027 dates yet. Its last edition ran from 27 February to 1 March 2026, according to the IIT Delhi CAIC page for Tryst, which points to late February or early March as the usual window. One warning: on 8 October 2026 the domain tryst-iitd.org served an unrelated page, so use the CAIC page linked here to find the real fest site. Our Rendezvous 2026 guide covers the full pronite line-up, and the IIT Delhi campus guide covers the venues.
Which IIT fests are still to come in 2026?
Thomso, IIT Roorkee (9 to 11 October 2026). The Thomso site describes three days with "three Pronite concert nights" and 1,00,000+ students from 500+ colleges. On 8 October the fest's public pass configuration listed the Accommodation Pass at ₹4,499 (list price ₹4,999) and the Non-Accommodation Pass at ₹4,000 (list price ₹4,299). Our Thomso 2026 guide has the rest.
Antaragni, IIT Kanpur (dates not announced). On 8 October the Antaragni website says "Antaragni ’26 is Coming Soon" and gives no dates. The 2025 Diamond Jubilee edition ran from 9 to 12 October 2025 (IIT Kanpur), so October has been the pattern, but nothing is confirmed. We track it in our Antaragni 2026 guide.
Techfest, IIT Bombay (16 to 18 December 2026). The accommodation page prices a campus stay at "Rs.3299 per person for 4 Days & 4 Nights inside IIT Bombay Campus", with ₹150 off for groups of more than 4 and ₹250 off for groups of more than 12. The previous edition ran 22 to 24 December 2025 (Wikipedia).
Mood Indigo, IIT Bombay (21 to 24 December 2026). The fest announced its dates in an Instagram reel on 6 October 2026: "From 21st to 24th December, get ready to lose yourself in four days of everything that makes this experience unforgettable." The accommodation page shows ₹3,499 (₹5,099 struck through) for a stay from 20 December 6 AM to 25 December 10 AM. This is the 56th edition, per the fest's 2026 brochure described in our Mood Indigo 2026 guide.
When are Saarang and Shaastra 2027?
Neither IIT Madras fest has announced 2027 dates. The Shaastra website describes the technical fest as "traditionally held over four days and four nights from 2nd to 6th January", and the 2026 edition did run from 2 to 6 January, with over 80,000 visitors expected (IIT Madras press release, 26 December 2025).
Saarang, the cultural fest, followed straight after: its 52nd edition ran from 8 to 12 January 2026, with "an expected footfall of over 80,000 visitors", according to the IIT Madras press release of 6 January 2026. The same release traces it to 1974, when it began as "Mardi Gras", renamed Saarang in 1996. Both announcements came only days before each fest in 2025-26, so expect late notice again. The IIT Madras campus guide explains where the venues are.
Which IIT fests happen from January to March 2027?
January is still the busiest month. Last season, IIT Hyderabad's Elan & nVision ran 9 to 11 January 2026 (IIT Hyderabad), and IIT Kharagpur's Kshitij, its 23rd edition, ran 16 to 18 January 2026 (Telegraph). On 8 October 2026, ktj.in showed only "Website under construction".
Spring Fest at IIT Kharagpur is "held during January in the spring semester" (Wikipedia); the last edition we could date from a published source was the 66th, from 24 to 26 January 2025 (Avenue Mail). Alcheringa at IIT Guwahati is "conducted towards the end of January every year" (Wikipedia). Neither the 2026 nor the 2027 dates for these two could be confirmed from an official page, because both fest sites failed to load on 8 October.
Techkriti at IIT Kanpur is the one firm January date: 28 to 31 January 2027 (techkriti.org). Its pass fee is listed as "Announced soon." After that come Tryst at IIT Delhi (2026 edition: 27 February to 1 March, CAIC) and Cognizance at IIT Roorkee (2026 edition: 13 to 15 March, cognizance.org.in). Shaastra and Saarang, as above, are expected in early January.
Which IIT fest is the biggest?
Every big fest publishes a footfall figure, but they come from different years and different counting methods, and most are the organisers' own numbers. Read them as scale, not as a ranking.
| Fest | Reported scale | Year and type of figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Techfest (IIT Bombay) | 1.8 lakh | Latest edition, as stated on Wikipedia | Wikipedia |
| Antaragni (IIT Kanpur) | 1.6 lakh+ footfall, 400+ colleges | Institute press release, October 2025 | IIT Kanpur |
| Rendezvous (IIT Delhi) | 160,000+ attendees, 1,200+ colleges | 2025 edition, as stated on Wikipedia | Wikipedia |
| Thomso (IIT Roorkee) | 1,00,000+ students, 500+ colleges | Fest's own site, 2026 | thomso.in |
| Shaastra (IIT Madras) | 80,000+ visitors expected | Pre-event projection, January 2026 | IIT Madras |
| Saarang (IIT Madras) | 80,000+ visitors expected | Pre-event projection, January 2026 | IIT Madras |
| Spring Fest (IIT Kharagpur) | 80,000+ | 2019 edition, as stated on Wikipedia | Wikipedia |
On these numbers the biggest are IIT Bombay's Techfest, IIT Kanpur's Antaragni and IIT Delhi's Rendezvous, each in the 1.6 to 1.8 lakh range. Mood Indigo is in the same league but we could not find a recent footfall figure on a page we can link to, so it is left out of the table rather than guessed.
What actually happens at an IIT fest?
Three things. First, pronites: headline concerts. Cognizance's own site lists past performers including Jubin Nautiyal, Mohit Chauhan, KK, Amit Trivedi and Zakir Khan (cognizance.org.in), and Mood Indigo 2025 had Sonu Nigam and Seedhe Maut (Careers360). Second, competitions with real prize money: Spring Fest 2025 ran "over 130 competitions in 13 categories" with total prize money of ₹35 lakh (Avenue Mail).
Third, talks. Techfest has hosted lectures by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Bjarne Stroustrup and Vint Cerf (2014-15) and the 14th Dalai Lama (2018-19), per Wikipedia. Shaastra says it is "the first such event in the world to be ISO 9001:2015 certified" (shaastra.org). All of it is run by students.
Can outsiders attend IIT fests?
Usually, yes. Thomso's site says plainly that the fest "is not limited to IIT students" (thomso.in), and most big fests sell passes or accommodation to students from other colleges. But access can be cut when crowds get out of hand. During Mood Indigo 2025, IIT Bombay cancelled event pre-registrations and stopped outsider entry mid-fest (Careers360, 17 December 2025).
Students who have been say the same. A visitor wrote on r/iitbombay in December 2019:
"With moodi you get a crowd, a lot of crowd, it's just like a mumbai sabzi mandi and the coordinators at iitb just can't handle this much crowd."
The basic question comes up for every fest. On r/kanpur, someone planning a first trip to Antaragni asked: "are outsiders even allowed in the campus for this fest?" The practical answer: register on the fest's own site, buy the pass or accommodation before you travel, carry college and government ID, and check the entry rules again in the week of the fest.
How to check fest dates yourself
- Go to the fest's own site first. Thomso, Techfest, Techkriti and Cognizance publish dates on their sites. Aggregator calendars often copy last year's dates.
- Then the official Instagram. Mood Indigo announced its 2026 dates there before its website showed them.
- Then the institute. IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur put out press releases for Shaastra, Saarang, Techkriti and Antaragni, often only a few days before the fest.
- Be careful with old domains. Fest domains sometimes lapse. Reach the real site through the institute's page, as with Tryst via IIT Delhi's CAIC.
Related guides
- Mood Indigo 2026: dates, accommodation and entry
- Techfest 2026 at IIT Bombay: deadlines, prizes, accommodation
- Thomso 2026 at IIT Roorkee and Antaragni 2026 at IIT Kanpur
- Rendezvous 2026 at IIT Delhi and the IIT hostel survival guide
Fest season is hoodie season. Campus hoodies for every IIT: Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Delhi, Roorkee, and the rest of the 23.
By Arun Raghav S · Co-founder, IITian Vibes · Facts retrieved 8 October 2026 from the linked official pages and documents. Corrections to hello@iitianvibes.com.