NID is the National Institute of Design, a public institution funded by the government of India, and has branches in three major cities. NID offers programs for both UG and Master's students in 8 different programs.
NIFT is the National Institute of Fashion Technology, also a public institution that runs under the ministry of textiles of India. It was in collaboration with the prominent fashion institution, New York. It has branches in 26 different cities all across India.
One thing that sets these institutions apart is their curriculum, although they offer courses in similar domains, such as apparel, textile, and accessory designing.
NID is one of the prestigious design institutions, and its curriculum varies from NIFT. NID focuses on imparting knowledge in the design field in various domains, while NIFT is also a top Institution that primarily focuses on Fashion.
Both institutions receive thousands of applications each year. However, both institutions will only offer a limited number of seats. To filter out the candidates, establishments conduct their institution entrance exams nationally.
NID:
NID conducts two three-hour aptitude tests to evaluate the candidate's creativity, ability to think, observation, communication, and other factors influencing designing.
NIFT:
NIFT conducts a two-hour exam for UG and master's applicants. For the advanced like B.F.Tech, MFM, and M.F.Tech applicants must appear for a three-hour exam.
There are misconceptions that NID exams are harder to ace. However, both institutional exams are conducted nationally, where you must compete with other participants like you.
The exam difficulty remains the same for both institutions since the syllabus will be parallel to both at max. Only people with a well-versed syllabus preparation can crack the exam on the first attempt.
For fashion designing, NIFT is an option to go for since it primarily focuses on fashion design. Again, it is totally up to you to choose which one to go for, depending on the exam you want to take.
