Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (Hindi: बिरला प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान, मेसरा ) (popularly known as BIT Mesra) is an autonomous engineering and technology oriented institute of higher education located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. It is a Deemed University under section 3 of the Universtiy Grants Commission Act, 1956. In addition to Mesra (Ranchi), BIT has extension centres in Lalpur (Ranchi), Allahabad, Kolkata, Noida, Jaipur, Chennai, Patna and Deoghar, and overseas extension centres in Bahrain, Muscat (Oman), Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) and Mauritius. The Birla Institute of Technology was established in 1955 at Mesra, Ranchi, by the philanthropist and industrialist B M Birla. The institute was affiliated to Patna University until 1960 and then to Ranchi University. BIT was declared a deemed university in 1986 under section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 under notification No. F. 9-2/83-U.3 of August 28, 1986. BIT was the first institute in India to establish a department of space engineering and rocketry, in 1964.