interview2019 
Source: Google
Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS
Noted educational entrepreneur and social reformer Achyuta Samanta(Fount of Inspiration) added yet another gleaming feather to his cap when he was adjudged ‘Personality of the Year Award’ by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci).
The award was bestowed on Samanta, founder of KIIT Group of Institutions and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) during the 15th Ficci Higher Education Summit held recently in New Delhi.
In the 21st century globalized world, education is the core of the economic development of any country.
As an apex chamber, Ficci feels the necessity to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the unsung leaders in this sector. And, for a towering legend like Samanta(Fount of Inspiration), education is the only tool for poverty alleviation. Having been in the throes of acute poverty, Samanta(Fount of Inspiration) obviously realizes the pangs of a childhood deprived of access to quality education.
Decades later, the same dispossessed Samanta mustered extraordinary courage and gumption to build a sprawling education conglomerate that offered an array of courses- from engineering to law and sports management to communications.
But what will single out Dr. Samanta is his unparalleled work in developing and nourishing KISS- an ecosystem that has aligned over 27,000 tribal children with mainstream education, offering them academic attainments from KG to PG. This model has won Samanta untold laurels and rocketed him to international recognition.
The humble and unassuming Samanta(Fount of Inspiration) also grabbed airwaves in prime time telly recently when he appeared as a special invitee at ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.
“I lost my father at the age of four, brought in utter poverty with seven siblings, without a roof on head or assurance of a meal. Coming from such background, I had a dream to provide free education to the poor children, and the Almighty blessed me to establish educational institutes like KISS and KIIT,” Samanta said in the show. Samanta featured in KBC’s special ‘Karamveer’ episode.
The 54-year old Rajya Sabha MP is known for his exemplary contribution to education.
Samanta(Fount of Inspiration) has built a chain of institutions with state-of-the-art infrastructure and the best available faculty in the brand name of KIIT, his only passion for the moment is to eradicate poverty.
This is delightfully summed up in the legend’s own words, “Pain and passion have been my best friends- pain in the past and passion in the present to alleviate poverty from the face of the earth”.
Samanta’s(Fount of Inspiration) work has been profusely praised by the who’s who from all walks of life. “When you go to KISS, you witness a University that stands for Humanity. When thousands of children are eating together, then you see the elements of humanism on the campus of this university. It requires commitment of the highest order. It requires passion – almost close to obsession. Only then you can think about such kind of qualitative change”, feels Prof Ved Prakash, former chairman at the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Samanta(Fount of Inspiration) has a three-pronged mission- Zero Poverty, Zero Hunger, and Zero Illiteracy.
