The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), with its vision of a world free of hunger, poverty and illiteracy, is home to 60,000 indigenous students – this includes 30,000 at our main campus in Bhubaneswar, 15,000 at satellite centres in different districts of Odisha and over 15,000 alumni. KISS upholds affordable and accessible quality education as the key to mitigating the transmission of cycles of poverty that place India’s indigenous communities at a disadvantage. By providing holistic quality education, skill development, nutrition security, healthcare, equity and inclusion to all its students, KISS enables tribal communities to understand their rights, thereby protecting them from the influence of forces who could take advantage of their isolation from urban communities. In this endeavour, KISS addresses the visions of some of India’s founders such as Nehru, Ambedkar and Gandhi, as well as recommendations of some of India’s earliest policies on tribal education and development, such as the 1952 Nehru’s Panchaseela Niti, 1960 Dhebar Commission Policy Review and the 1986 National Policy on Education. The visions and recommendations of these policies laid the foundation for tribal development and the promotion of education for tribal students while celebrating their rich cultural identity and promoting their creative talent. These ideas form the very core of KISS’ relationship with its students, who are empowered – through culturally-sensitive, quality curricular and extra-curricular education – to become torch-bearers of peace and progress in their communities. The New Education Policy 2020 emphasises the need for holistic education as a benchmark for educational institutes across the country, and this has been central to KISS’ education model – since its inception – thanks to the innovation and foresight of its Founder. Since its humble inception with merely 125 students in 1993, KISS has grown to its present strength and diversity, representing 62 tribes of Odisha and more from neighbouring States. Its constituent, KISS Deemed to be University, is the first and the largest exclusive university for indigenous children. It has also been in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations since 2015. KISS has produced more than 5,000 athletes and sportspersons participating in and winning various national and international events. The students of KISS have performed well academically, with their pass percentage being higher than the state average for tribals. KISS stands for Gender Equity, Vocational Empowerment and Women’s Empowerment based on the 3E formula of “Enable, Educate and Empower.” The most important principle of the success of this model is the indigenous control of education, where importance is given to preserving the culture, heritage and traditions of tribal communities. Through partnership with various UN bodies, corporate houses, NGOs and civil society, KISS has gained over 20 years of collaborative experience within the development field. Since its inception, it has consistently promoted analysis, advocacy and local action for the SDGs – from implementing innovative initiatives to ensure its campus & learning environments nurture empowered youth who can pave the path for a sustainable future, to strategising and implementing community-level projects with the vision of propelling tribal Odisha towards the transformative 2030 Agenda shared by the United Nations. For over 2 decades, KISS has worked to empower & engage tribal youth and tribal community members by amplifying their voices in multi-stakeholder & multi-platform conversations about the path to a sustainable future – voices that are often underrepresented in global discussions. The unique vision and effective execution of the KISS Model have been lauded by planners and administrators both nationally and internationally, with a call for replication of its innovative approach to indigenous controlled empowerment through education. As KISS’ students successfully graduate as empowered alumni with competitive jobs and degrees, the demand for education among tribal communities is also burgeoning. As a result, KISS has been working to increase its outreach in the State by setting up model schools in all districts of Odisha, beginning with districts that have larger populations of marginalised communities. Due to its inherent limited resources, to realise this ambitious vision of educating and empowering millions of disadvantaged children, KISS’ new schools are being made sustainable and financially self-sustaining through partnership and collaboration with government and non-government agencies. Thus far, KISS is pleased to have inaugurated campuses in Balangir, Baripada, Balasore and Kalahandi. Apart from Odisha, KISS also has a campus in the National Capital Region of Delhi in partnership with the Delhi Government and has also incorporated KISS Foundation USA and KISS Foundation UK as charitable organisations to receive international donations, grants and contributions towards supporting the education and facilities for its 60,000 indigenous students. Moreover, to make its main campus financially sustainable, KISS follows a unique financial model, wherein its growth has been linked to the growth of its sister institute Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), which is a prestigious private university in the same city. As per the resolution passed by the KIIT Society, 5% of the total turnover of KIIT is donated to KISS as a charitable work/social responsibility. As per the statutory rules of the KIIT Deemed to be University, each staff member contributes 3% of his/her gross salary to KISS for the welfare of tribal children in KISS. The contractors/vendors of KIIT Group of Institutions contribute 2% to 3% of their profits to KISS. Additionally, KISS receives approximately Rs. 15 crores annually in the form of donations from various generous individuals, corporate houses and organizations, like Give India. Other stakeholders of KIIT, including guardians of its students, contribute benevolently to this noble cause. Besides this, approximately Rs. 3 crore is realized from the sale of vocational products produced by KISS in its vocational training centres. KISS is one of only 14 NGOs in India to have been awarded the Guide Star India Champion Level-Platinum Certification by Guide Star India for its financial transparency. This recognition follows KISS’ inclusion recently in the Top 500 NGOs in the world, widely regarded as the ‘non-profit Ivy League’, and top 10 NGOs in India by Geneva-based organisation, NGO Advisor. KISS is the brainchild of philanthropist and educationist, Dr Achyuta Samanta, who founded the institute in the early 90s to ameliorate the suffering of impoverished tribal communities. He faced severe hunger, abject poverty and deprivation as a child, and this inspired him to make it his lifelong mission to diminish the suffering of others, particularly Odisha’s many tribal communities. Dr Samanta firmly believes that accessible and affordable education is key to this, and thus, KISS was created as a completely free of cost model from this selfless dream. With his support and guidance, over the last 2 decades, KISS has learned and grown alongside the indigenous community, working with more than 150,000 individuals, and nurturing the dream of educating over 2 million of India’s marginalised youth over the next decade.