Kakinada student lands Rs 1.06 crore AI engineer job
Malti Akhilesh of Kutukudumilli in U. Kothapalli mandal, Kakinada district, has been offered Rs 1.06 crore a year as an AI engineer by Canadian firm Fabrantic AI. At campus placements held in May this year at Aditya University, Surampalem, 243 students appeared and only two were selected. He received the offer letter on June 20 and works from home. A stipend of Rs 30,000 a month applies for three to six months. His father Gangadhar, who has a hearing impairment, is a tailor.
Source
Kakinada — ఉద్యోగాలు · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- Malti Akhilesh of Kutukudumilli, U. Kothapalli mandal, Kakinada district received a Rs 1.06 crore annual package as an AI engineer. — Figure appears in source; no offer document or company statement quoted, attributed to the report.
- Canadian company 'Fabrantic AI' conducted campus interviews at Aditya University, Surampalem, in May this year; 243 students appeared and only two were selected. — Numbers stated in source; company name transliterated from Telugu and not independently confirmed.
- The offer letter was sent on June 20 and he has already joined, working from home. — Date and status appear in source; no source given beyond the report.
- The company will pay a stipend of Rs 30,000 a month for the first three to six months before the full package applies. — Figure appears in source, unattributed to any named company official.
- Akhilesh completed Class 10 in 2020 at a private school in U. Kothapalli, intermediate at Narayana School, Kakinada, and got a BTech seat via EAPCET rank. — Educational timeline as given in source; internally consistent.
Analysts’ view opinion
This is a personal triumph, but read through a policy lens it says two things at once: campus recruitment is now a genuine bridge from a tier-two district college to the global market, and that bridge is still extremely narrow — two selections out of 243 candidates. The detail that a stipend of Rs 30,000 a month runs for the first three to six months before the full package kicks in is a useful reminder of the gap between an announced figure and money in hand. The real test of skilling policy is not one crore-rupee offer, but the spread of solid mid-level salaries.
- Two placements out of 243 interviewees suggests demand for AI skills is real while the supply of students who actually meet that bar is thin — a curriculum gap more than a talent gap.
- The story itself notes a stipend phase of three to six months at Rs 30,000 a month before the annual package applies, so the headline number is not immediate income.
- Working from home matters structurally: remote hiring lets small-town and rural talent access global employers without migrating, but it depends on reliable power and broadband.
- A student from a tailor's household, with a father who has a hearing impairment, entering via an EAPCET rank underlines the mobility value of entrance-exam based admission and the school-to-intermediate pipeline.
- Like earlier big-package headlines, this is an outlier; policymakers should judge the system by median placement rates and median pay, not by showcase cases.
What to watch — Watch whether the full package takes effect once the three-to-six-month stipend period ends, and whether colleges in the state widen AI curricula and recruiter access beyond a handful of toppers.
The story does not establish the company's structure, the contract terms, or how much of the package is fixed versus variable — and a single case cannot prove any policy is working.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 6 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
Malti Akhilesh, a B.Tech student from Kutukudumilli village in U. Kothapalli mandal of Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada district, has been offered an annual package of Rs 1.06 crore as an artificial intelligence engineer by the Canadian company Fabrantic AI. He comes from a modest family: his father Gangadhar, who has a hearing impairment and could not study, works as a tailor, assisted by his mother Devi. Akhilesh cleared EAPCET with a good rank, joined Aditya University at Surampalem, focused on AI projects, and was selected in a May 2025 campus placement drive after earlier interview rejections.
Key facts
- Malti Akhilesh has been offered Rs 1.06 crore per year as an AI engineer by Canadian firm Fabrantic AI.
- At the campus placement interviews held at Aditya University, Surampalem in May this year, 243 students appeared and only two, including Akhilesh, were selected.
- The company sent the official offer letter on June 20; he has already joined and works from home.
- As per company rules, a stipend of Rs 30,000 per month is paid for the first three to six months, after which the full announced package is paid.
- His father Gangadhar has a hearing impairment, had no chance to study and took up tailoring; mother Devi assists him in the work.
- Akhilesh completed Class 10 in 2020 at a private school in U. Kothapalli and studied Intermediate at Narayana School, Kakinada.
- He secured a good rank in EAPCET, which got him a B.Tech seat at Aditya University, Surampalem.
- He had earlier attended two or three campus placement interviews without being selected.
Timeline
- 2020Akhilesh completes Class 10 at a private school in U. Kothapalli, Kakinada district.
- After 2020Studies Intermediate at Narayana School, Kakinada; secures a good EAPCET rank and a B.Tech seat at Aditya University, Surampalem.
- Earlier (before May)Attends two or three campus placement interviews but is not selected.
- May this yearFabrantic AI (Canada) conducts campus interviews at Aditya University; 243 students appear, two are selected.
- June 20Fabrantic AI officially sends the offer letter for the Rs 1.06 crore AI engineer role.
- PresentAkhilesh has joined duty and works from home; draws Rs 30,000 monthly stipend for the initial three to six months.
Who has a stake
- Malti Akhilesh — Secures a Rs 1.06 crore AI engineer job; aims to become an 'AI master' in the field.
- Parents Gangadhar and Devi — A tailoring family whose dream of higher education for their son is realised; father has a hearing impairment.
- Aditya University, Surampalem — Host institution of the campus placement drive where 243 students appeared and two were selected.
- Fabrantic AI, Canada — Recruiting firm hiring Indian AI engineering talent on remote, work-from-home terms.
- Other engineering students and job seekers — Highly selective placement outcomes (2 of 243) show the competition in AI hiring.
Why it matters
The case shows how AI skills and project work can open globally paid, remote jobs for students from small towns and low-income households, delinking earnings from geography. At the same time, only two of 243 candidates being selected underlines how narrow such opportunities are and how much depends on self-driven specialisation beyond the classroom.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Malti Akhilesh of Kutukudumilli, U. Kothapalli mandal, Kakinada district (Andhra Pradesh) offered Rs 1.06 crore/year as AI engineer.
- Recruiter: Fabrantic AI, a Canada-based company; offer letter dated June 20.
- Campus placement venue: Aditya University, Surampalem; 243 candidates, 2 selected.
- Stipend of Rs 30,000 per month for the first three to six months before the full package.
- EAPCET is the entrance test through which he secured his B.Tech seat.
- He completed Class 10 in 2020 and Intermediate at Narayana School, Kakinada.
Mains framing
The story of a tailor's son from a Kakinada village landing a Rs 1.06 crore artificial intelligence engineering role illustrates three shifts in India's education-to-employment pathway: the premium now attached to emerging-technology skills, the rise of remote work that allows a village-based graduate to serve a Canadian employer, and the role of campus placements in private universities as the main bridge to global employers. The selection of only two candidates out of 243 interviewed, however, points to a skills mismatch: conventional degree completion is no longer sufficient, and outcomes hinge on self-driven specialisation and project portfolios, as in Akhilesh's case where he tracked the global AI trend and built projects around it. Structural factors also matter: first-generation learners from families with disability and low income (his father has a hearing impairment and could not study) face information and resource gaps, and his earlier rejections in two or three interviews show persistence is part of the story. The way forward suggested by the source is limited to what it reports, but the case supports arguments for wider exposure to AI skilling, stronger campus placement linkages and support for first-generation learners, while noting that headline packages are conditional, with a stipend phase of Rs 30,000 a month for three to six months preceding the full package.
Key terms
- AI engineer
- A professional who builds and deploys artificial intelligence systems and projects; the role offered to Akhilesh.
- Fabrantic AI
- Canada-based company that conducted campus interviews at Aditya University and made the Rs 1.06 crore offer.
- Campus placement
- Recruitment drive conducted by companies inside an educational institution to hire final-year students.
- EAPCET
- The engineering and allied courses entrance test through which Akhilesh obtained his B.Tech seat.
- Stipend
- A fixed monthly payment during an initial period; here Rs 30,000 a month for three to six months before the full package.
- Work from home
- Remote working arrangement under which Akhilesh performs his duties for the Canadian employer from his home.
Practice questions
- How is the growth of artificial intelligence and remote work changing employment opportunities for engineering graduates from small towns in India? Discuss with examples.
- Only two out of 243 candidates were selected in a single campus drive. What does this suggest about the employability gap in Indian technical education, and what measures can address it?
- Examine the role of first-generation learners' family support and institutional placement mechanisms in enabling social mobility through higher education.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.