Bharath Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) started with Sri Lakshmi Ammal Educational Trust as the first self-financing Engineering College in Tamil Nadu in 1984 by Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan. The trust then established Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital in 1989. Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital was first recognized as a Deemed to be University by MHRD in July 2002, under section 3 of the UGC Act 1956, and placed under the purview of the new trust of Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research (BIHER). The Bharath Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) and other institutions (below) were then brought under the ambit of the Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research (BIHER).