Achyuta Samanta

Achyutananda Samanta FRSC (born 20 January 1965) is an Indian educationist and philanthropist.

Besides education and tribal upliftment, healthcare and rural development, Samanta has contributed to art, culture, literature, film, media, society and national integration. He has also founded Kadambini Magazine and Kuni Katha exclusively for children. Besides, he is also the founder of Kalinga TV and K News Odisha.

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 called ISA Award for Service to Humanity and Best Worker Award respectively. He has been conferred with 55 Honorary Doctorate awards from universities in India and abroad. He is the first Odia to be a member of both UGC and AICTE. He is currently the Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Kandhamal, Odisha and also the President of Volleyball Federation of India. He is the designated President (India) of Democracy without Borders and founder of Parliamentarians for Indigenous People.

Early life
Samanta was born to Anadi Charan Samanta and Nilima Rani Samanta in the village of Kalarabanka in Cuttack District of Odisha in 1965. His father died when Samanta was four, and he grew up in abject poverty with his widowed mother and seven siblings.

Samanta received an M.Sc. in Chemistry from Utkal University. He started his career as a Chemistry lecturer in a college in Bhubaneswar.

Educationist
Samanta is the founder, ex chancellor, and secretary of KIIT University; and the founder of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, KISS Deemed to be University, KIIT International School, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), KIIT School of Management (KSOM), KIIT School of Rural Management (KSRM), KIIT School of Computer Application (KSCA), KIIT School of Biotechnology (KSBT), KIIT Law School (KLS), KIIT School of Languages (KSOL), Kalinga Institute of Dental Sciences (KIDS) and KIIT Polytechnic.

Member of national and International bodies
He is a member of University Grants Commission (UGC), Executive Committee Member of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), President of Volleyball Federation of India, Member of Indian Olympic Association, President, 39th World Congress of Poets (WAAC), General President (2017–18) of 105th Indian Science Congress, Advisor of Ministry of Education (Government of Manipur), Academic Council Member of Central University of Orissa, Serving Member of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), Coir Board of India, National Executive Council Member of Indian Society for Technical Education, and Executive Committee Member of Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).

He was also a serving member of international bodies including the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), United States of America; Institute of International Education (IIE), New York City; Association of University of Asia Pacific (AUAP); University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP), Bangkok, Thailand; Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health (APACPH); United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), and Asia Economic Forum (AEF), CIFEJ (Centre International Du Films Pour L'enfance Et La Jeunesse, Dubai).

Honoris Causa awards
OIU, Colombo – November 2002 Honorary PhD

OIU, Colombo – September 2005 DSc.

National University, Cambodia – 2009

Hanseo University, South Korea – 2010

Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha – Central University, Tirupati, India – 2011

National Formosa University, Taiwan- 2012

Daffodil International University, Bangladesh-2014

International University of Kyrgyzstan – 2014

The International School of Medicine, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan-2014

Kainar University, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 2014

Chosun University, South Korea-2014

Hangai University, Mongolia-2014

Soyol Erdem University, Mongolia-2014

Naryn State University, Kyrgyzstan-2014

Jalalabad State University, Kyrgyzstan- 2014

Tabriz University, Iran-2014

Jalal-Abat State University (JASU), Kyrgyzstan-2014

Osh Law Institute, Kyrgyzstan-2014

Modern University of Humanities, Moscow – 2014

Talas State University, Kyrgyzstan – 2015

Issyk-kul State University, Kyrgyzstan – 2015

Issyk-kul Co-operative Institute, Korakoll – 2015

Kyrgyz-Uzbek University – 2015

Tajikistan State National University Dushanbe – 2015 (notified)

Daejeon Institute of Health Science, Daejeon, Korea – 2015 (notified)

Humanitarian & Pedagogy University, Osh (notified)

Osh State University, Osh (notified)

Kyrgyz – Russian Slanik University (notified)

West Kazakhstan Agrarian Technical University (notified)

Poltava University, Ukrain (notified)

Nakhchian State University, Azerbaijan(notified)

Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh, Assam

Metropolitan State University, Czech Republic

North Ossetian State University, Vladikavkaz, Russia

Ala-Too International University, Kyrgyzstan – 2017

Nanhua University, Taiwan – 2017

St. Petersburg Institute of Education, Russia – 2017

World Academy of Arts and Culture ( WAAC)- 2018

Berhampur University – 2018

Dr. DY Patil Vidyapeeth Pune – 2018

National Chin-Yi University of Technology (NCUT), Taiwan – 2018

Vitebsk State University, Belarus - 2019

IIS University, Jaipur – 2019

ICFAI Sikkim – 2020

Desh Bhagat University – 2021

Sikkim Professional University – 2021

The Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology & Research (Deemed to be University) – 2021

RK University, Rajkot – 2022

Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar -2022

Utkal University, Bhubaneswar- 2022

Awards and records
Samanta received a number of awards, and created new records in the field of social entrepreneurship. He was mentioned among the Top 15 Social Entrepreneurs of the World by the American Edge Foundation. Samanta appears in The Limca Book of Records as the youngest chancellor of any University in India.
 * Outstanding Green Activist Award by India Green Energy Awards organised by Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE) – 2019
 * Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar (Lifetime Achievement Award) at 4th National Teachers’ Congress by MIT World Peace University, Pune - 2020
 * Personality of the Year Award by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) – 2019
 * Golden Gabel Award by World Academy of Arts And Culture – 2019
 * BusinessLine Changemaker Awards 2019 instituted by The Hindu BusinessLine daily – 2019
 * Conferred the UC Distinguished Professorship in Humanities by The University of Cambodia – 2018
 * Hall of Fame Award presented by World CSR Congress, New Delhi – 2015
 * Successful Entrepreneur Award at Economic Times Entrepreneurship Summit 2015, New Delhi – 2015
 * Civilian Award by Jan Mládek, Industry & Trade Minister of Czech Republic, Vladimír Bärtl, Deputy Minister of Industry & Trade Minister of Czech Republic and M. Stašek, Ambassador of Czech Republic to India at Czech Embassy, New Delhi – 2015
 * Think India Award by Think Media at Transforming India Conclave 2014, New Delhi – 2014
 * Honorary Fellowship Award by Computer Society of India (CSI), Hyderabad, India – 2014
 * Visista Puraskar from 24th Annual Awards – 2014
 * Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Award, Moscow, Russia – 2014
 * Gusi Peace Prize International, Manila, Philippines – 2014
 * ‘2013 World of Difference Awards’ by US-based International Alliance for Women (TIAW) – 2014
 * Jawaharlal Nehru Award, 2012–2012
 * Godfrey Phillips Bravery Award (Social Bravery Award) in recognition of an exceptional Act of Courage – 2011
 * Priya Odiya Samman 2007 (Most Endeared Personality in Odisha), through a survey by a National TV Channel – 2007
 * Humanitarian Award from Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organization, Johannesburg, South Africa – 2004
 * First Oriya to receive International Award for Outstanding Social Work by the Indian Embassy, Muscat, Oman
 * Received ‘Certificate of Excellence’ in the field of Social Work from the Minister of International Affairs, Government of Cambodia
 * In December 2022, he received Honorary Doctorate degree by Utkal University marking the 50th honorary degree conferred on him.