KNIT was Initially Established as the Faculty of Technology in Kamla Nehru Institute of Science and Technology, Sultanpur in the year 1976 by Kamla Nehru Memorial Trust. It was taken over by the govt. of Uttar Pradesh in 1979 with a view to develop a full-fledged engineering institute in the Eastern UP region better known as the Awadh region. Later, in the year 1983 it was registered as a separate society and renamed as the Kamla Nehru Institute Of Technology.
The Institute is one of the leading technical institutions of the region and is responsible for producing top-grade engineers with skill sets comparable with the best in the world. Being fully aware of its social responsibilites and the addressing the issue of application of technology to industry, it also renders the testing and consultancy services to the neighbouring industries and various other agencies. The institute is presently affiliated to U.P Technical University , Lucknow .