New Delhi, April 16: The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have reluctantly agreed to implement OBC quotas from this session, paving the way for 1,374 more undergraduate seats this year.

The seven existing IITs have each agreed to increase intake by 13 per cent this academic session, which will ensure that 9 per cent of all seats available this year can be reserved for OBCs.

The decision was taken today at a meeting of the joint admission board of the IIT Joint Entrance Examination attended by the seven directors, other senior IIT officials and representatives of the human resource development.

“We will increase seats each year in such a manner that 9 per cent more seats go to OBC students,” IIT Delhi director Surendra Prasad said.

According to a blueprint forwarded by the IITs to the ministry, the institutes will increase seats by 18 per cent (with the current number of seats as the base) in 2009-10, sources said. The following year, the IITs will raise seats by 23 per cent — again with the current seats as base — to arrive at a 54 per cent increase in seats over three years. The IITs had earlier committed to an 18 per cent rise in seats for three successive years to meet the 54 per cent increase required under the quota law.

Some directors admitted that concerns over inadequate accommodation for students were persisting. “But we will not let standards drop,” Prasad said.

Although the planned expansion to meet the demands of reservation will not increase seats for general category students, the launch of three new IITs from this academic session will benefit these students . The three new IITs are starting in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, and are to be “mentored” by the existing institutes in Chennai, Delhi and Kanpur, respectively.

Of the seven existing IITs, the institutes in Delhi and Kanpur are likely to face the biggest challenge. Students at the IITs in Rajasthan and Bihar, which haven’t decided on their locations, will study at least for the first two years in Delhi and Kanpur.