Achyuta Samanta

Achyuta Samanta
ଅଚ୍ୟୁତ ସାମନ୍ତ
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
25 May 2019 – June 2024
Preceded byPratyusha Rajeshwari Singh
Succeeded bySukanta Kumar Panigrahi
ConstituencyKandhamal
Personal details
Born (1965-01-20) 20 January 1965 (age 60)[1]
Kalarabanka, Jagatsinghpur, Odisha, India
Political partyBiju Janata Dal
Residence(s)Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Alma materUtkal University
OccupationSocial Worker & Entrepreneur
Known forFounder of KIIT Group of Institutions
Websitewww.achyutasamanta.com

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

He is currently the President of Volleyball Federation of India. From 2019 to 2024 he was Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Kandhamal, Odisha.

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.[2] His father died when Samanta was four, and he grew up in abject poverty with his widowed mother and seven siblings.[3]

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

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.[4] 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)[5] – 2019
  • Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar (Lifetime Achievement Award) at 4th National Teachers’ Congress by MIT World Peace University, Pune[6] - 2020
  • Personality of the Year Award by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)[7] – 2019
  • Golden Gabel Award by World Academy of Arts And Culture[8] – 2019
  • BusinessLine Changemaker Awards 2019 instituted by The Hindu BusinessLine daily[9] – 2019
  • Conferred the UC Distinguished Professorship in Humanities by The University of Cambodia[10] – 2018
  • Received ‘Certificate of Excellence’ in the field of Social Work from the Minister of International Affairs, Government of Cambodia [11]
  • In December 2022, he received Honorary Doctorate degree by Utkal University marking the 50th honorary degree conferred on him.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Dr. Achyuta Samanta-Founder, KIIT & KISS". Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  2. ^ "How Odisha's education man Achyuta Samanta plans to navigate his way to the Rajya Sabha". The New Indian Express. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. ^ Purkayastha, Debapratim (March 2015). "Achyuta Samanta's KISS: Mainstreaming Marginalized Communities Through Education". The IUP Journal of Entrepreneurship Development. XII (1): 45–61.
  4. ^ The New Indian Express. 12.01.2008 Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder Secretary KIIT & KISS has been placed among the top 15 social entrepreneurs of the world
  5. ^ "Achyuta Samanta conferred with 'Outstanding Green Activist' Award". KalingaTV. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  6. ^ Educationist & Social Worker Dr Achyuta Samanta Conferred With Jeevan Gaurav Award || KalingaTV, retrieved 30 April 2021
  7. ^ "Dr Samanta gets FICCI 'Personality of the Year' award, millennium Post, Nov 28, 2019". ficci.in. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  8. ^ "39th World Congress of Poets at KIIT". The New Indian Express. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Changemaker Award to Achyuta Samanta". The Pioneer. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  10. ^ "THE CONFERMENT OF THE HONORARY DOCTORAL DEGREE ON JUSTICE DALVEER BHANDARI AND THE UC DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORSHIP IN HUMANITIES ON PROFESSOR ACHYUTA SAMANTA". The University of Cambodia. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  11. ^ "In Transit with Achyuta Samanta – Lok Sabha". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  12. ^ Hemanta, Pradhan (24 December 2022). "Achyuta Samanta gets 50th honorary doctorate". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 January 2023.

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