Despite Odds, Telangana Auto Driver's Son Secures Admission in IIM Ahmedabad

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(Photo: The Quint)

Despite several odds, Laxmikanth Reddy, son of an autorickshaw driver from Telangana's Godavarikhani has secured admission into Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

He started his Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (MBA-PGPX) course at the institute recently, reported Times of India.

Speaking to the publication, Reddy said, that his father had always dreamt of providing him good education at a convent school and wanted Reddy to "make it big" in the corporate world.

'Want To Get a House For Parents Soon After Graduation'

Now that the dream has come true, Reddy wants to buy his parents a house as soon as he graduates from IIM-A and earns enough.

"My parents had stalled the dream of buying a house to fund my education. I would first take up a job and earn enough to provide for them. Afterwards, I want to venture out on my own and realise my dream to become an entrepreneur – that's the purpose of coming here," the 27-year-old Reddy told Times of India. My community and my sister have been a pillar of support, he added.

Although, he was born in a family of farmers, Reddy's father chose to work as a autorickshaw driver, as income from agriculture was unpredictable. He, however, left the profession a few years later after he developed paralysis.

Reddy, initially did his schooling till class VII at a Telugu medium school. Thereafter, his father made arrangements and admitted him in a convent school, where he used to pick up and drop children. Subsequently, through scholarships, he studied at a junior college and Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology.

In 2016, Reddy completed B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering. His journey however was not easy after his father fell ill. To pay fees and meet his other expenses, he had to take his community's help and offer tuition classes.

Later on, he was placed in a software company in Hyderabad. Reddy, along with his friends took up entrepreneurship in 2019 to promote terrace garden and farming.

However, COVID-19 reignited Reddy's dream of pursuing higher education. "I worked hard in 2020, and cracked CAT in 2021. It was a dream come true," he said.

(With inputs from Times of India.)