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. “We should never be defeated, and never give up,’’ said Ms. Patil, 31, who assumed charge in the presence of District Collector K. Gopalakrishnan and staff at the District Collectorate, adding that she felt “extremely glad and proud to be in Thiruvananthapuram.’’
After securing the 124th rank in the 2017 Civil Services Exams, she was posted as Assistant Collector in Ernakulam, Kerala, in 2018. The loss of vision at the age of six did not deter the youngster from Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra, from pursuing her civil service dream.
In 2016, she cracked the Union Public Services Examination on her first attempt with a rank of 773. In her second attempt the very next year, she improved her ranking. Her appointment as Assistant Collector in Ernakulam had grabbed headlines.