BIT Mesra, even today is a premiere Indian Institution which was established alongside IIT Kharagpur in the 1950s. The alumni from BIT Mesra have made great contributions in their respective fields in the past. At one time, BIT Mesra had an admission criteria which was eventually scrapped due to unethical practices used during the admissions.
The reason why BIT Mesra has lagged far behind BITS Pilani is that it is not evolving with the fast-paced world. BIT Mesra is not making any significant changes in its academics to compete with other premier Indian universities.
BITS Pilani has adapted with time. Both the motivated students and the education quality at BITS Pilani make it stand high above BIT Mesra.BITS Pilani has no attendance criteria for its students. Even then, the students like to attend the classes due to a healthy teaching environment.
BITS Pilani was established by G.D. Birla in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Its academic program flowcharts are thus derived from MIT. BIT Mesra, on the other hand, has no collaborative backing as such. The practical learning environment at BITS Pilani stands much higher than the rote learning mindset at BIT Mesra.
The faculty at BITS Pilani is excellent in terms of knowledge, interest, and supporting nature. On the other hand, the faculty at BIT Mesra is not favored by the students. The students find the faculty at BIT Mesra to be very rigid and dominating which causes hurdles in a healthy teacher-student relationship.
To regain its lost status, BIT Mesra should adopt more modern learning methods, a well-adaptive curriculum, and a more supportive faculty like BITS Pilani.
BITS Pilani is located in Rajasthan, which is and used to be a part of India's so-called active north. As a result, BIT Mesra is not preferred by the people of the north, who have better options of IITs and NITs. While some go for the south. It is only an ideal place for Bihar, Bengal, Orisha, Jharkhand, and the neighboring state.
BIT Mesra was ranked 7th by India Today Group Survey, but it remains isolated in terms of fame because students are the biggest marketer for a deemed institution. If you say, “Hey, I am from Bit Mesra,” the likely answer would be, “Is it a subsidiary unit of Bits Pilani?” As BITS Pilani is more reputed.
Here are a few other reasons why BIT Mesra has not gained much recognition among the students.
This all that I have learned through my connections at the institutes. Hope this helps in clearing your doubts.