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From poverty to powerhouse – An inspiring real-life story
This article is promoted by the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT).In a world where specialisation is often celebrated, there comes once in a lifetime a person who integrates everything – education, social work, tribal empowerment, healthcare, sports, spirituality, culture and rural development into a singular, seamless journey.
He has brought all of them under one roof, through one vision, and within one lifetime. Professor Achyuta Samanta has not only worked in each of these areas, but he has also excelled in all of them. And he has done so through the two institutions he built from scratch: KIIT and KISS.
From a humble beginning, with no family wealth, no patronage, no institutional support, not even a bank balance to lean on, in a state that was among the most backward in India – he made the impossible possible.
He transformed his educational institutions into powerhouses of impact. KIIT is one of India’s top private universities, drawing students from over 70 countries. KISS is the world’s largest residential institution for tribal children, impacting over eight million lives by transforming the lives of those at margins.
Together, they have won national and international awards, including KISS’s UNESCO International Literacy Prize and ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations for both.
No wonder his work has become a model par excellence, admired and endorsed by policy-makers, thought leaders, celebrities, academics, diplomats and jurists alike. Through KIIT and KISS, he has created a platform that today provides direct employment to 20,000 individuals and indirect livelihood opportunities to more than 300,000 people. The local economy which was once stagnant with no hope of development is now booming.
Besides education and tribal uplift, he has made significant contributions to art, culture, literature, media, health, rural development, women empowerment, social campaigns, spiritualism and sports.
His outreach work includes movements like Art of Giving, Kanya Kiran, Kalinga Fellowship, New Mind New Dreams, Education for all, Nanhi Pari, India Against Negativity, and HERO (Health Empowerment of Rural Odisha).
Of all his contributions, his role in sports is stellar, creating world-class infrastructure, promoting sportspersons and nurturing 15 of the 24 Olympians who participated in the Paris Olympics 2024. His unique leadership style can be understood through the ‘One Person, Many Hats’ theory.
Professor Samanta operates across fields, each with precision, passion and personal involvement and that is why all his initiatives are successful, applauded and emulated. KIIT and KISS are examples of ‘Institutional Catalysis’ as they are the institutions that serve as engines of societal change. It is possible because it is founded not just on systems, but on values.
Through KIIT and KISS, Professor Samanta has turned educational spaces into catalytic zones – fuelling local economies, generating thousands of direct and indirect jobs, curbing extremism, reducing dropout rates, check-mating trafficking, harassment and child labour through KISS, creating a model village, founding the most popular literary Odia magazine and running it successfully, building hundreds of spiritual centres, and even producing Olympians.
These have to be seen beyond outcomes, but as milestones on a path walked with devotion.
And what is the secret behind all this? It is neither strategy nor sponsorship. It is surrender. As Professor Samanta often says: “When you surrender to God, you stop worrying. You start working.” That deep surrender has been his foundation. Every act of service stems from a place of devotion. That surrender has yielded accolades, 70 honorary doctorates, global awards and recognition and something more rare – universal respect.
Despite all recognitions and success, Professor Samanta lives a simple, celibate life in a rented house. His success has not changed his humility; instead, it has deepened his resolve to spread smiles. Spiritualism has found a real-world expression in his work – proving that seva (service) is the highest form of sadhana (spiritual practice).
Dr Achyuta Samanta (social connect):
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This article is promoted by the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT).