The loss of vision at the age of six did not deter the youngster from Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra, from pursuing her civil service dream.
Pranjal Patil, the young woman who battled great odds to become the country’s first visually challenged woman IAS officer, took over as Sub-Collector in Thiruvananthapuram, on Monday.
Ms. Patil opted to spend her first day in Thiruvananthapuram, familiarising herself with the new environment. She said she expected a lot of support from the public and the Collectorate staff.
After securing the 124th rank in the 2017 Civil Services Exams, she was posted as Assistant Collector in Ernakulam, Kerala, in 2018.
DETERMINATION
In 2016, she cracked the Union Public Services Examination on her first attempt with a rank of 773. Ironically, she was refused a job in the Indian Railway Accounts Service on the grounds that she was visually challenged.
In her second attempt the very next year, she improved her ranking. Her appointment as Assistant Collector in Ernakulam had grabbed headlines.
PRANJAL PATIL
“We should never be defeated, and never give up,’’
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