Dr Achyuta Samanta

Dr Achyuta Samanta is an educationist, philanthropist and social worker. He is the founder of an international philanthropic marvel—the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS)—home to 60,000 indigenous and tribal children from all over the state of Odisha. These children are provided free education, food and accommodation in a sprawling campus that has state-of-the-art facilities. Dr Samanta is also the founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), a government-designated ‘Institution of Eminence’ and one of the most prominent global universities, renowned for its excellence in professional education. Besides education, tribal upliftment, healthcare and rural development, Dr Samanta has contributed immensely to promoting Odisha’s art, culture, literature, film industry, media and sports. He has undertaken a mission of national integration by helping society develop. He converted his birthplace, a remote village called Kalarabanka into perhaps India’s first Smart Village. He has been conferred with more than 50 international and national awards and over 200 state awards besides two highest civilian awards from Royal Kingdom of Bahrain and Mongolia. He has also been conferred with 45 Honorary Doctorate awards from universities in India and abroad. Dr Samanta is currently a first-time Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Kandhamal, Odisha. He is also the President of Volleyball Federation of India. He has been propagating the ‘Art of Giving’ as a way of life, which is aimed at bringing peace and happiness around the globe. Despite all his achievements, he has a very simple lifestyle, and works tirelessly to achieve zero poverty, zero hunger, zero illiteracy.