hey,

For a free seat, you have to obtain a very high rank if you want to secure admission into the top NITs. But the score also depends on the exam, and it varies each year. If you are preparing for JEE Mains, you would need around 95+ percentile, which is around 160-166+ marks, and if you are preparing for NEET, the score is much higher, around 500 or more.

Hope it helps!!!