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Meet India’s IAS Pranjal Patil, a woman who dared to dream

The success story of India’s IAS Pranjal Patil


The difficulty level of the IAS exam is not hidden from anyone. But there is no doubt that when the spirits are high, no matter how big the difficulty, it cannot stop you. But whose success story we are going to tell you today, her challenge was different. Yes, today we will talk about the country’s first visually impaired IAS officer Pranjal Patil. While the candidates are not able to crack the exam despite all the facilities, Pranjal not only cleared the exam without her sight, the most integral part of life, but also got a good rank. Don’t be surprised if someone says that dreams can be made and fulfilled without eyes.

Because the 28-year-old Pranjal Patil, a resident of Ullasnagar, Maharashtra, has proved this point. She has been appointed to the Kerala cadre. Pranjal took over the charge of Sub Collector in Thiruvananthapuram on 14 October.

IAS Pranjal Patil

She has studied up to 10th from Smt. Kamala Mehta School in Dadar, Mumbai. In this school, studies were done in Braille script. After this, Pranjal passed 12th in Arts from Chandabai College, in which she got 85 percent marks. She did her BA from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. After doing BA, she did MA from JNU Delhi. During this, Pranjal took the help of a special software Job Access with Speech, which has been made for the visually impaired people. When Pranjal patil was doing her graduation, she first read the article of UPSC and then started collecting information related to the exam. During this, Pranjal decided that she would continue to be an IAS officer.

Pranjal Patil continued her studies with Braille script

When Pranjal was in the 6th class, at that time a student of her class got a pencil in her eye, due to which she lost her sight in one eye. After a year, the other eye also lost it’s sight but she didn’t give up and became India’s first blind woman IAS officer. Even after losing eyesight, Pranjal did not give up, she continued her studies through Braille script. Along with this, she took the help of software, which she used to read and listen. In this way, she continued to study. Pranjal made herself stronger as she got the support of technology.

IAS Pranjal Patil

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She decided to become an IAS

Meritorious Pranjal was determined to become an IAS officer from childhood. Although before this she had also prepared for many other competitive exams, she kept her main focus on the IAS exam. She gave the UPSC exam for the first time in the year 2016.

She got success in the second attempt

This is the same Pranjal Patil, who was refused a job by the Indian Railways due to blindness. In the year 2016, Pranjal had secured 773rd rank in UPSC. Then she was offered a job in the Indian Revenue Service, but was refused a job during her training. Pranjal was saddened by this, but she did not give up and took the examination again in the year 2017 and secured 124th position.

IAS Pranjal Patil

Interestingly, Pranjal had decided not to take any coaching to prepare for the civil services exam. Apart from this, Pranjal had also solved mock test papers and participated in the discussion. Pranjal’s story tells that weakness or disability does not lie in the body, but in the mind. Pranjal never considered himself disabled but considered herself specially-abled. That’s why maybe even after so many challenges, she never looked back.

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Jagisha Arora

MA in History and has worked as a freelance writer. She writes on issues of gender, caste and democracy.
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