Pranjal Patil, India’s first woman IAS officer with visual impairment, took charge as sub collector and Revenue Divisional officer of Thiruvananthapuram district on Monday.

Pranjal, who lost her vision at the age of six, is from Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra. She went on to complete a postgraduate degree in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and later cracked the Union Public Service Examination in 2016 with a rank of 773, in her first attempt.

Though she was offered a job at the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), when they found out about her visual impairment, the offer was rescinded. The following year, she prepared for the exam again and secured the 124th rank in UPSC.

In 2018, during her training in Mussoorie, she was appointed as Ernakulam assistant collector for a short period of time. Later, she returned to complete her training.

Speaking to media in Thiruvananthapuram, she said that one should never feel defeated. "We should never give up. We will get that one breakthrough we’re hoping for," she said.

In earlier interviews, she said she felt disappointed after being rejected by the Railways Department. She had also said that she had gone through severe pain after her surgeries on her eyes, though they had been unsuccessful.

Pranjal was given a warm welcome in Thiruvananthapuram, in the presence of Social Justice Department Secretary Biju Prabhakar and RDO Senior Superintendent TS Anil Kumar.

The first IAS officer with visual impairment in India is Krishna Gopal Tiwari from Madhya Pradesh.

Photos :Sreekesh Raveendran Nair