Teachers said while an increased pay structure is their key demand, the ministry's 40 percent cap on their promotion to the next level is another contentious area.

They are also against the ministry's proposal not to appoint fresh PhD holders as teachers in the IITs even though the institutions are facing a severe faculty crunch.

The ministry said that unless a candidate with a PhD has three years of teaching experience, he or she cannot be on the permanent rolls. But faculty members point out that this is not applicable to the university system but still applied to the IITs.

'There should not be any cap on excellence whether in appointment of fresh teachers or promotion of professors to a senior level,' said another IIT Delhi faculty member.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal Tuesday disapproved of the teachers' protest plans. 'The faculty behaviour doesn't meet IIT standards,' he said.

The ministry has rejected the IIT faculty's demand to make their salary at par with scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Thenmozi said they expect the HRD ministry to step in and solve the problem sooner than latter.

Meanwhile, the faculty federation and IIT directors meet, scheduled for Friday, was postponed as some of the directors are out of country.