Daijiworld Media Network - Thiruvananthapuram (SR)

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Oct 15: Pranjal Patil from Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra has become the country’s first visually challenged woman IAS officer. The 30-year-old Pranjal took charge as the assistant collector of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Monday, October 15.

In an inspiring event, Pranjal, was received at the collectorate by Senior Superintendent of police and some other senior government officials. Accompanied by Anu Kumari, the assistant collector, she went to the district collector’s chamber and took charge as the sub-collector.

Expressing her desire to work for the welfare of the people, Pranjal said that she was extremely happy to take charge as the sub-collector.

Born with weak eyesight, Patil lost her vision at the age of six but that did not stop her pursuing her dream of becoming an IAS officer. She scored 733 rank in civil service in her first attempt and she was offered a job in the Indian Railway Account Services after clearing the exams but her vision problem became a hindrance. Without losing hope, Pranjal continued her studies and scored a better ranking in the second attempt by cracking the UPSC exams with 124th rank in the country.

Motivating the youth she said, “We should never be defeated and never give up. With our efforts, we will always be able to achieve what we desire.”