Yes, there is a provision for branch change at IIT Mandi. The exact number of students allowed to change their branch depends on the number of available seats in the particular branch. But as a trend, almost 10 out of 40 (close to 25%) of students of a particular branch can change their branch in a given academic year. Here are a few guidelines issued by the institute regarding the branch change.

• The branch change happens after the 2nd semester (after the 1st year). If interested, you must submit the application before the end of your 2nd semester with your choices and preference.
• You must not have any active backlog after the 2nd semester and the CGPA obtained by you will be used for making a decision on the branch change.
• Branch change is done in such a way that the strength does not fall below 50% or rise more than 25% of the sanctioned strength. However, the top-ranking student of each branch is awarded a branch change if he/she has a CGPA of more than 8.0.
• A student who has obtained a CGPA of 10.0 is given his/her preferred branch change without any constraint of batch strength.
• The branch change option will be exercised strictly on a merit basis (based on CGPA) and preference. 

In very rare and exceptional cases, the senate may award branch change to a student before the fourth semester if there exists any genuine and compelling reason for the same. Hope this helped.

I have gone through the faculty profile given on the official website of IIT Mandi. It looks similar to that of all newly established IITs, except for IIT Gn and IIT H, which are better than the others. 

One of my friends is also a student of the Mechanical branch at IIT Mandi. Most of the faculty members in the Mechanical branch are married couples. One of them got a job here and after that, they recommended their spouses. 

In terms of research, the branch is not that good. Most of the faculties just mug up a research paper and publish a new one. One of the faculties became associate by doing the same. If you want to pursue higher studies in Mechanical, then don’t choose IIT Mandi. 

To be very honest, doing MS from IIT Mandi is not a great decision. It completely depends on the branch that you choose. Suppose you choose Computer Science (Image Processing and Communication), then you may get better results with respect to placements. If you choose to pursue MS in Electrical: Control, Power Drives, Sensors, etc., then the chances of placement are very minimal. For the other branches like Thermal, Design, and Material, etc., the only option you will have is going for a doctorate. 

Although, if you have set your mind that you will go for a doctorate program after MS, then IIT Mandi is a good option because the tag of IIT will definitely help you in the future. But in case you are hopeful of getting placed after completing MS from IIT Mandi, then you are at the wrong place. Choosing one of the old NITs will help you more.

IIT Mandi has an excellent placement history and is one of the best colleges in India. The average package offered at IIT Mandi is 13.5 LPA.

The following table shows the statistics more clearly for CSE:

The top recruiters of IIT Mandi in the year 2020 include - Microsoft, who became the star recruiter this year offering over 11 placement opportunities followed by L&T ECC. Amongst others, Microsoft (11 PPOs), Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Robert Bosch, Optum, SMS Datatech and Tonichi Insatsu were among the companies that offered decent placement for the batch 2019-20.

Around 9 new recruiters arrived for the placement cell, some of them were Marvell, Razorpay, 1mg, GMO research, Sprinklr, and many more.

It is completely up to you as all institutes have their own set of advantages. As in IIT Mandi, there will be an IIT tag, which will help you gain admission to international institutions.

If you really want to work, IIT Mandi is better in terms of academics, as MANIT Bhopal has a very linear M.Tech. Furthermore, everything is dependent on your branch. 

In MANIT Bhopal, on the other hand, academics for M.Tech are very light, and you will earn your degree without doing any such work. 

If you want to plan for the IES, then this is a good option because there is a Made Simple center in Bhopal and you will have plenty of time.

In short, IIT Mandi is better if you want to continue your schooling, but MANIT has an advantage over IIT Mandi if you want to train for competitive exams.

As you may already know that IIT Mandi has two hostels for girls and five for boys. The hostels are good as far as food, basic amenities, and accessibility to important places nearby are concerned. You can apply for a single room or share some on a double or triple occupancy basis. 

My friend compiled this list when he joined IIT Mandi, you may find it helpful:

• The items listed here are very easily available in the campus or city- toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, soap container, water bottle, pen drive, scissors, stapler and pens, paper soap, flip flops, registers, pens, washing powder, shampoo, shaving kit, oil, comb, creams and moisturizers, deodorants, wristwatch, etc.
• So if you have a bucket, pillow, mattress, and mug at your home, then you can surely bring them along, but if you are not comfortable carrying these along then these are easily available in the city here.
• Now here is a list of items you will have to bring along with you because they will not be available near the campus or the city- documents like pan card, driving license, etc and photocopies, cloth, file, lock and keys, scientific calculator, bags, umbrella, toolkit, and mobile charger.

As for laptops, CS students should definitely bring their laptops. The campus has a stationery shop that sells pen drives, sheets, registers, and all the useful paraphernalia. So I don't think that'd be an issue. Carefully select items needed.

One of my friends is a student at IIIT Allahabad pursuing a dual degree in IT. My older brother is a student at IIT Mandi, where he is studying electrical engineering. Regarding the whole situation, let me be absolutely honest with you.

• If you are interested in electrical engineering, you should first apply to IIT Mandi. 
• Even if you are interested in CSE, you can choose IIT Mandi if you are confident in your ability to score well as branch change rules are less stringent there. 
• The campus and surrounding scenery are both stunning at IIT Mandi. 
• Since there are fewer students, there are more opportunities in every sector. 
• There are better sports facilities, as well as the IIT designation. IIT Mandi is the place to go if you want to be more involved on campus.

IIIT Allahabad outperforms IIT Mandi in terms of faculty, coding culture, and infrastructure. 

• The college will assist you in becoming a more professional IT engineer. 
• In terms of campus life and activities, IIT Mandi is ahead of IIITA, but IIIT has a larger alumni network. 
• Alumni of the IIIT Allahabad are in high-ranking positions in Silicon Valley. 
• Placements are marginally better here than at IIT Mandi.
• In terms of venue, both are very similar, with Allahabad being an inch better.

You must now choose where you will spend the next four years of your life. Examine your long-term priorities and goals, and make decisions accordingly.