Pranjal Patil is India’s first visually impaired IAS officer. In 2015, she became the center of attention after clearing the UPSC entrance exam.
wiki/bio
Pranjal Patil was born on Friday, April 1, 1988 in Wadaji Village, Jalgaon, Maharashtra (age 31 years 2019). Her zodiac sign is Aries. Pranjal was born with weak eyesight. According to one source, she lost her sight when she was six years old. Pranjal reportedly lost his vision after his eyes were exposed to direct sunlight. According to another source, one of Pranja’s classmates hit her in the eye with a pencil. She was rushed to hospital, but doctors were unable to restore her sight. Doctors also said that she would soon lose vision in her other eye, and a year later, Pranjal’s vision was completely damaged and she was 100% blind.
Pragyal Patil as a young man
Later, her family moved to Mumbai and she was educated at Kamla Mehta School for the Blind in Dadar, Mumbai. She is a very smart student and always gets good grades in her exams. She studied there until grade 10. Later, she got admitted to Chandibai Himatlal Manshukhani College in Ulhasnagar, where she completed her intermediate course. After graduation, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Pranjan then moved to New Delhi to pursue a Master of Arts (MA) degree at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She went on to pursue a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) at Jinan University and then a PhD in International Relations at Jinan University.
Pragyal Patil as a young man
When she was in college, her friends read her articles about the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Pranja immediately became interested in the civil service and decided to pursue a career in the civil service. Pranjal, however, wanted to qualify in her first attempt, so she waited until she was ready to take the exam. In 2015, when she was pursuing her Masters in Philosophy, she started preparing for the UPSC exam. She turned to technology, using software called Job Access With Speech (JAWS) to prepare for the exam. JAWS is a screen reading software that helps visually impaired students read screens with text-to-speech output and refreshable braille displays.
Pranjal said in an interview that preparing for the exam was very difficult for her. She must scan the books she must prepare; because JAWS can only read printed documents. She also had to find a writer to help her prepare for the exam. The main exam is 3 hours long, but students using Writer have 4 hours to complete the paper. Therefore, she must find a writer who can match her dictation speed. Her friend Vidushi comes to help her. Pranjal is very satisfied with Vidushi as she often helps her with preparations too. Pranjal once said –
I had a perfect tune with Vidushi. If I slowed down on a test, she would scold me. It’s like I said a word and it was written on paper. “
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′
Eye color: black
Hair color: black
family and husband
Pranjan was born into a Hindu family. Her father Lahen Singh B Patil is an engineering assistant. Her mother Jyoti Patil is a housewife. She has a married brother. Pranjal is married to businessman Komal Singh Patil.
Pranja Patil and her parents
Pranjal Patil and husband Komal Singh Patil
Profession
In 2015, Pranjal attempted the UPSC entrance exam for the first time and qualified AIR 773. She was assigned to the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS). The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) sent her a letter informing her of her job assignment and she started training from December 2016. She was excited about her assignment, but in November 2016, DoPT sent her another letter asking her to undergo training. The appointment was canceled as Indian Railways does not employ 100% blind people.
Pranjal was very angry after hearing this. She wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and other senior officials seeking explanation and justice. She said why should she be denied a job since there is a quota for persons with disabilities. The Indian Railways also responded by saying that they never hire a person who is 100% blind and therefore, the Ministry of Transport should not have assigned her the job in the first place. A few months later, she was assigned to work in the postal and telecommunications department. Patil was furious as the level assigned was lower than what she deserved based on her merit. Pranjal sought help from the media and said that she passed the UPSC entrance exam like others and she should be given a job on her merits.
She also met Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu who assured her that she would get a job based on her merits. Suresh Prabhu even tweeted that Pranjal will get a job soon based on her merits. She was later assigned different jobs and even attended training. In 2017, Pranjal attempted the UPSC entrance exam again and this time she qualified with AIR 124. This is a huge achievement for her. She became the first blind student to qualify as IAS. She was praised by people across the country. People congratulated her and Akashwani Pune also congratulated her on her achievement.
Pranjal Patil congratulated by Akashwani Pune
In 2018, she completed the first part of her training from Lal Bahadur Shastri National Institute of Administration, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. In May 2018, she served as Assistant Collector of Ernakulam District in Kerala as part of her training.
Pranjal Patil’s first day as Assistant Collector, Ernakulam
Pranjal took charge as deputy collector of Thiruvanthapuram on October 14, 2019. She also became India’s first visually impaired IAS officer. On the first day, she was greeted and welcomed by Thiruvananthapuram district magistrate K Gopalakrishnan. He also said that her appointment is an auspicious thing for Thiruvananthapuram district.
Pranjal Patil’s first day as Deputy Collector
fact
- When she was in college, she used to travel from her home in Ulhasnagar to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to go to her college. She has said that she never had any problems while traveling, people were always nice to her and always helped her cross the street, get on the train, climb the stairs and she never had any problems.
- Pranjal never took any coaching classes to prepare for the UPSC entrance exam. She said in an interview that she was not very disciplined during the first few days of preparation. Hence, she started taking exams which helped her gain the right discipline in her preparation.
- Pranjal idolized Stephen Hawking and Daisaku Ikeda. Daisaku was a Japanese Buddhist and philosopher whose work she read every day because it helped her believe she could achieve anything.
- In December 2018, she came into the spotlight for becoming an organ donor at her brother’s wedding. She also helps the organization set up booths at weddings to help spread awareness about organ donation. Pranja also said that she did this in public to encourage more people to become organ donors.
Pranja Patil signs up for organ donation
- Pranjal said in an interview——
Success does not provide inspiration; The struggle behind success inspires you. But success is important because only then will people be interested in learning about your struggles. The attitude and method of doing things are very important, and then everyone can become the cornerstone of a beautiful society.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education