CITD Hyderabad (Central Institute of Tool Design) in 2026: Courses, Fees, Entrance Exam and Tool Room Services

CITD — the Central Institute of Tool Design at Balanagar, Hyderabad — is where a lot of Telangana and Andhra students go after Class 10 to train as tool and die makers. It's also where small manufacturers send drawings when they need a press tool, a mould or a CMM report. Students mostly search for "CITD entrance exam 2026", the fees and the address. Factory owners want to know what work CITD will take on. This guide covers both, using the official 2026 prospectuses on citd.in, CITD's extension-centre pages and the Ministry of MSME's list of tool rooms.

Quick answer

CITD Hyderabad (Central Institute of Tool Design, also called MSME Tool Room, Hyderabad) is a Government of India society under the Ministry of MSME at Balanagar, Hyderabad 500037. It runs four AICTE-approved three-year diplomas after Class 10, a lateral-entry route for ITI holders, a post diploma and a PG diploma in tool design, an M.E. with Osmania University, and short CAD/CAM and automation courses. It also designs and makes tools for industry.

• Diploma fee: ₹24,000 per semester for the 2026 intake; no course fee for SC/ST

• Entry: Class 10 pass, maximum age 19 years (SC/ST up to 5 years more); 90-minute objective entrance test

• 2026 cycle: applications 1 March–22 May, entrance test 24 May (tentative), Hyderabad only

• Centres at Vijayawada, Chennai, Kolar Gold Fields and Karimnagar for short courses and job work

What CITD is (and what "MSME Tool Room Hyderabad" means)

The Government of India set up CITD in 1968 as a United Nations Development Programme project, with the International Labour Organization as executing agency. UNDP donated the precision machinery, and UNDP experts stayed for about five years to train its faculty. CITD describes itself as Asia's first tool room and training centre. In 1970 it became a Government of India society under what is now the Ministry of MSME. The Development Commissioner (MSME) chairs its governing council and a Principal Director runs it day to day.

The Ministry lists CITD as one of its 18 Technology Centres — ten former Tool Rooms and eight Technology Development Centres — and gives its sector as "General Engineering (Automation)". That's why the institute's own header reads MSME Tool Room, Hyderabad. It is not one of the newer "MSME Technology Centres" built in places like Bhiwadi or Durg — those are covered in our MSME Technology Centres guide. The institute holds ISO 9001, 14001 and 50001 certificates. Our CITD directory profile has the map and a short equipment summary.

Not to be confused with: "CITD JNU", which is a centre for international trade studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and has nothing to do with tooling.

CITD courses and fees for 2026

CITD's training runs at five levels. The table brings together the official 2026 prospectuses, which are separate PDFs on citd.in.

All four diplomas are AICTE-approved and recognised by Telangana's State Board of Technical Education and Training — DTDM and DPE as equivalent to the Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, DECE to Electronics & Communication. The lateral-entry brochure says the four diplomas are approved for 2026-27 and lets diploma holders move into the second year of a B.Tech through the state lateral-entry exam. Teaching is roughly 25% theory and 75% practical.

Fees that come on top

• Diplomas: ₹1,000 registration and a ₹1,000 caution deposit. The application costs ₹1,000 (₹500 for SC/ST). Pay each semester's fee within 30 working days of the start.
• Post diploma: ₹1,200 registration and a ₹5,000 caution deposit; SC/ST pay no course fee.
• PG diploma: ₹1,800 registration and a ₹1,000 caution deposit.
• M.E.: a one-time ₹9,770 Osmania University autonomy charge plus ₹1,000 registration and ₹1,000 caution deposit. A general candidate pays ₹52,770 at admission. SC/ST candidates pay only ₹11,770 — the M.E. course fee is waived for them.

Worked example — DTDM day scholar, general category: 6 × ₹24,000 = ₹1,44,000 in course fees, plus ₹1,000 application, ₹1,000 registration and ₹1,000 caution deposit = about ₹1,47,000 over three years. You also buy your own safety goggles, a 0–150 mm vernier, a 0–25 mm micrometer, uniform and safety shoes. Earlier batches pay older rates — CITD's January 2026 fee notice charged ₹22,000 and ₹20,000 a semester to continuing students.

Short-term courses, NSQF courses and internships

For ITI, diploma and engineering students or working technicians, short courses are the quicker route. CITD runs them in four streams: mechanical (tool design, CAD/CAM/CAE, 3D printing, civil CAD, industrial automation), EEE, ECE and computer science. Mechanical batches start on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. Theory can be online or offline, but machine practicals are always at Balanagar.

The six-month (600-hour) NSQF CAD/CAM courses on CITD's current course list cost ₹29,400 plus ₹1,000 registration, with fee waivers for SC/ST candidates under Government of India norms. Entry levels vary: some need only SSC (minimum age 15), others ITI or a diploma (minimum age 17). The list is headed 2024-25 but is still the one linked from the training page, so confirm the fee when you register.

Internships: the Chennai extension centre lists one-month courses in IoT, AI & ML, embedded systems, Python and CAD/CAM at ₹8,260 (including registration and GST), and two-week internships at ₹1,770. The Karimnagar centre publishes its own internship brochure. Phone the centre before you travel.

CITD entrance exam and admission process

Diploma admission is once a year through CITD's own entrance test. For 2026, applications opened on 1 March and closed at 5 pm on 22 May, and the test was tentatively set for 24 May 2026 in Hyderabad. The 2026 prospectus gives the University College of Engineering, Osmania University as the test venue, subject to change. The 2026 round is over; use these dates to judge when the 2027 prospectus will appear.

How to get a CITD diploma seat

1. 1

   Check eligibility

   Class 10 (SSC) pass and no older than 19 years on the cut-off date (22 May in 2026), with up to five years' relaxation for SC/ST. Students waiting for Class 10 results can also apply.

2. 2

   Apply online or offline

   Apply through the Diploma Admissions link on citd.in, or download the form (or collect it at the desk, 10 am–5 pm) and send it to the Principal Director, CITD, Balanagar, Hyderabad 500037 with a demand draft.

   Tip: The application fee is ₹1,000, or ₹500 for SC/ST.

3. 3

   Prepare for the test

   90 minutes, objective questions from Class 10 Mathematics, Science, English, and Aptitude & General Knowledge. CITD posts previous question papers on its home page.

4. 4

   Check the merit list

   Results are put up on the institute notice board and on citd.in.

5. 5

   Attend counselling

   You're told the date by SMS, WhatsApp or email. Bring originals of the SSC certificate, transfer certificate, date-of-birth and bonafide certificates, caste and income certificates if applicable, Aadhaar, photos and a fitness certificate from an Assistant Civil Surgeon.

6. 6

   Pay and join

   Pay the first-semester fee of ₹24,000 plus registration and caution deposit. Originals are checked by DC-MSME and returned, so keep photocopies.

ITI holders take a separate lateral-entry test (90 minutes, trade subject plus aptitude), set for 15 June 2026. Post diploma candidates had applications open from 15 May to 30 June, with the test on 7 July 2026. The M.E. test is normally held in August; the 2026 notice closed applications on 6 September. The PG diploma takes a January batch: for 2026 the window ran from 17 November to 20 December 2025, with walk-in admission afterwards.

Before you join: you need 75% attendance to sit end-semester exams (no waivers), and you can't take another part-time course without permission.

Placements

CITD's placement page lists the companies that have recruited from campus. Recent notices include Diploma Engineer Trainee drives by Tata Advanced Systems, Hyderabad, and openings at Titan (Hosur), MTAR Technologies, Skyroot Aerospace, Tech Mahindra and a long list of Hyderabad tool, automation and plastics firms. The PG diploma prospectus claims a record of 100% placement for previous batches. CITD does not publish salary figures, so ask the placement cell for last year's offers before you choose a branch.

Extension centres: Vijayawada, Chennai, Kolar and Karimnagar

"CITD Vijayawada" is the most searched of these. None of them teaches the diplomas or M.E.; they run short-term, NSQF and internship courses, and Vijayawada also takes job work.

Tool room services for MSMEs

CITD's charter includes advisory, consultancy and common-facility services for small units — in practice, it designs and builds tooling you would otherwise buy from a large private tool maker. What its design, production and metrology pages list:

What a small manufacturer can get from CITD

0/7

• Tool design: progressive, compound and combination press tools; blanking, piercing, forming and draw tools
• Mould design: 2- and 3-plate injection moulds, hot-runner moulds, rubber, compression and transfer moulds
• Die design for high-pressure and gravity die casting, and forging dies for aluminium, copper and brass
• Jigs and fixtures, reverse engineering, simulation, prototyping and special-purpose machines (by agreement)
• CNC job work: 3- and 5-axis milling, turning and turn-mill, wire EDM and surface grinding in steel, tool steel, aluminium, Inconel, titanium and plastics
• 3D printing (FDM, SLA, SLS) for prototypes
• Inspection on a CNC 3D CMM, universal measuring machine, profile projector and surface roughness tester; calibration of limit gauges, micrometers and dial indicators

Share Print

To get a quote, fill in the Job Work Request or Design Request form on citd.in, or call marketing on 040-23772748 ([email protected]). Send a drawing or sample and the quantity. CITD also lists a RAMP project page — the World Bank-supported MSME performance programme — and runs government-funded training such as PM VIKAS courses, so ask whether your workers can join a subsidised batch. Keep your Udyam registration ready, since MSME-linked schemes ask for it, and use our quotation generator to compare CITD's price with private shops on the same terms.

Address, contacts and how to reach CITD

• Address: Central Institute of Tool Design, Balanagar, Hyderabad 500037, Telangana (on the Balanagar X Roads side of the Balanagar industrial area).
• Main office: +91-40-29561790 / 29561796 / 29561793 · [email protected]
• Diploma, M.E. and long-term admissions: Room 102, Diploma Block · 040-29561795, 9502405170 · [email protected]
• Short-term training: +91 7330747333 · [email protected]
• Job work, inspection, student projects: 040-23772748 · [email protected]
• Office hours: the contact page gives 9:30 am to 6 pm; admissions desk 10 am to 5 pm on working days. Sunday is the weekly holiday.

Getting there: Balanagar Metro Station on the Red Line (Miyapur–LB Nagar) is the closest stop; from there it's a short auto ride to the institute. From Secunderabad railway station it's roughly 10 km north-west.

Recruitment: "CITD recruitment" searches are mostly about the faculty and training-officer walk-ins CITD advertises on its Recruitment page. They are usually short-notice contract posts (for example, a walk-in on 5 September 2026), so check that page rather than job portals.

CITD vs other MSME tool rooms

Choose by where you can live for three years and which industry you want to work in. CITD's recent recruiters lean towards Hyderabad's aerospace and defence suppliers such as Tata Advanced Systems, MTAR and Skyroot; see CTTC Bhubaneswar and the IGTR guide for those campuses, CTR Ludhiana for the north, or CIPET if plastics is your field.

Official CITD links

• CITD Hyderabad websiteNotices, admissions, recruitment
• Diploma prospectus 2026 (PDF)Eligibility, fees, test pattern, dates
• Lateral entry diploma admissionsITI-holder entry, AICTE disclosure
• Post Diploma in Tool Design admissionsPDTD 2026 prospectus and forms
• M.E. admissions 2026M.E. notification and prospectus
• Contact and extension centresPhone numbers and emails by department
• Ministry of MSME — Tool Rooms and Technology CentresAll 18 centres and their sectors

What to do next

Students: download the current prospectus, check your age against the cut-off, and work through CITD's previous question papers. Before you pay, confirm whether your branch fee is ₹24,000 a semester or an older rate. Manufacturers: send CITD a drawing through the job-work form and compare its quote with two private tool makers. To see every government tool room and the newer technology centres in one place, start with our MSME Technology Centres guide or the technology centre directory.

Frequently asked questions

What is the full form of CITD?

CITD stands for Central Institute of Tool Design. It is a Government of India society under the Ministry of MSME at Balanagar, Hyderabad, and brands itself 'MSME Tool Room, Hyderabad'. It was set up in 1968 with UNDP assistance and the ILO as executing agency. The Ministry lists it among its 18 Tool Rooms and Technology Centres. CITD at JNU (international trade studies) is unrelated.

What is the fee for the CITD diploma?

For the 2026 intake the course fee is ₹24,000 per semester for all four diplomas (Tool, Die & Mould Making; Electronics & Communication; Automation & Robotics; Production Engineering). Add a ₹1,000 registration fee and ₹1,000 caution deposit. SC/ST candidates pay no course fee. Over six semesters a general-category day scholar pays about ₹1.47 lakh including the application fee.

When is the CITD entrance exam in 2026?

The 2026 diploma entrance test was held (tentatively) on 24 May 2026 in Hyderabad, after applications closed on 22 May. The lateral entry test for ITI holders was set for 15 June 2026, and the Post Diploma in Tool Design test for 7 July 2026. The next cycle's dates appear in the new prospectus on citd.in, usually from March.

What is the age limit for CITD diploma admission?

The 2026 prospectus caps age at 19 years as on 22 May 2026, with up to five years' relaxation for SC/ST candidates. The lateral entry brochure sets 15 to 19 years as on 31 May 2026. You need Class 10 (SSC) pass; aggregators quote 50% marks, but the official prospectus says only '10th Pass'.

Does CITD Hyderabad have a hostel?

Yes, but limited. The diploma prospectus says only that 'limited hostel facility is available', and the hostel page lists the wardens' contact numbers. No hostel fee is published online, so ask the admissions desk (040-29561795 / 9502405170) at counselling and apply early if you are coming from outside Hyderabad.

Is CITD Vijayawada part of CITD Hyderabad?

Yes. CITD runs a sub-centre at Auto Nagar, Vijayawada, with CNC milling, CNC lathe, CMM, CAD/CAM, ESDM and PLC labs for short-term courses, internships and job work. It also has extension centres in Chennai (at the MSME-DFO, Guindy), Kolar Gold Fields and Karimnagar. The diplomas and M.E. are taught only at Balanagar.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 7 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Prospectus for Diploma Courses 2026 — Central Institute of Tool Design, Hyderabad · accessed 7 October 2026
2. 2.Diploma Courses Lateral Entry Brochure 2026 — CITD Hyderabad · accessed 7 October 2026
3. 3.M.E. Admissions Notification 2026 and M.E. Admissions page — CITD Hyderabad · accessed 7 October 2026
4. 4.Post Diploma in Tool Design Prospectus 2026 — CITD Hyderabad · accessed 7 October 2026
5. 5.PG Diploma in Tool Design & CAD/CAM (Sr. Tool Designer) Prospectus 2026 — CITD Hyderabad · accessed 7 October 2026
6. 6.Contact, extension centre, design and production capability pages — CITD Hyderabad · accessed 7 October 2026
7. 7.CAD/CAM NSQF courses list and Short Term Mechanical page — CITD Hyderabad · accessed 7 October 2026
8. 8.TCSP Program Overview — 18 existing Technology Centres — Office of the Development Commissioner (MSME) · accessed 7 October 2026
9. 9.MSME Tool Rooms / Technology Centres — sectors served — Ministry of MSME · accessed 7 October 2026
10. 10.CITD, Hyderabad — Diploma Courses 2026 (notification summary) — Eenadu Pratibha · accessed 7 October 2026