Achyutananda Samanta(born 20 January 1965) is an Indian educationist and philanthropist.
He is currently the Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Kandhamal, Odisha and also the President of Volleyball Federation of India.
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.
^Purkayastha, Debapratim (March 2015). "Achyuta Samanta's KISS: Mainstreaming Marginalized Communities Through Education". The IUP Journal of Entrepreneurship Development. XII (1): 45–61.
^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