Achyuta Samanta (born 20 January 1965) is an Indian educationist and former member of Parliament from Odisha. He is the founder of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, a large private university at Bhubaneswar, and of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, a residential institution that gives free education, food and lodging to many thousands of tribal children.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Achyuta Samanta |
| Born | 20 January 1965, Kalarabanka, Cuttack district, Odisha |
| Age | 61 |
| State | Odisha |
| Education | Utkal University (M.Sc. in chemistry) |
| Occupation | Educationist, social entrepreneur, politician |
| Founded | Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT); Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) |
| Party | Biju Janata Dal |
| Offices | Member of the Rajya Sabha (2018–2019); Member of the Lok Sabha for Kandhamal (2019–2024) |
Early Life
He was born in the village of Kalarabanka in the Cuttack district. His father, a small employee of an industrial firm, died in a train accident when Achyuta was four, leaving a widow and seven children with nothing. He has often described a childhood of hunger, in which he did odd jobs and sold vegetables to help his mother and pay for school.
He took a master’s degree in chemistry from Utkal University and taught the subject in colleges in Bhubaneswar for some years.
KIIT
In 1992–93, with savings he has put at five thousand rupees, he started an industrial training institute in a rented building in Bhubaneswar with a dozen students. He borrowed heavily in the early years and has said that at one point debt drove him close to despair.
The institute added engineering courses in 1997 and was declared a deemed university in 2004. It now teaches engineering, medicine, law, management and other subjects to tens of thousands of students on a large campus, and maintains sports facilities that have hosted national and international events.
KISS
Alongside it, in 1993, he began a school for 125 tribal children. The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences has grown into what is described as the largest residential institution for tribal children in the world. Its students, from the tribes of Odisha and neighbouring states, receive schooling from the first class to postgraduate level, with board, lodging and health care, free of charge. It was given university status in 2017. Its students have been prominent in sport, especially rugby and athletics.
Its supporters regard it as a route out of poverty for children from the remotest districts. Some anthropologists and tribal rights groups have criticised the model of large boarding schools, arguing that it separates children from their languages and communities.
Politics
The Biju Janata Dal nominated him to the Rajya Sabha in 2018. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the tribal constituency of Kandhamal in 2019 and lost the seat in 2024.
Controversies
In February 2025 a student from Nepal died in a KIIT hostel. When Nepali students protested, they were ordered to leave the campus, and videos showed staff abusing them. The affair caused a diplomatic row; the Odisha government opened an inquiry, staff were arrested, and Samanta apologised and asked the students to return. A second Nepali student died on the campus some weeks later.
In 2026 remarks he made at a public event linking autism in children to deeds in a past life drew strong criticism. Opposition politicians have also raised allegations about the institutions’ land, which he denies.
Recognition
He has received a large number of honorary doctorates from universities in India and abroad and civilian honours from several countries.
Personal Life
He is unmarried and says that he lives in a rented house and owns no property. He has built up his native village as a “smart village” and promotes an idea he calls the Art of Giving.
Odisha’s present Chief Minister is Mohan Charan Majhi.
Featured image: Achyuta Samanta in July 2013. Photo by Krupasindhu Muduli, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
