First visually impaired woman IAS officer takes charge as sub-collector

Pranjal Patil, the country’s first visually impaired woman IAS officer took charge as the sub-collector of Kerala’s Thiruvanthapuram district on Monday (October 14).

Thirty-year-old Patil, who hails from Ulhas Nagar in Maharashtra lost her vision at the age of six. However, she did not lose hope and completed her graduation in political science from St. Xavier’s college with a master’s degree in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She did her schooling at the Kamala Mehta Dadar School for the Blind in Mumbai.

A warm reception was arranged to welcome her at the Thiruvanthapuram Collectorate as she took over the responsibility from former collector B Gopalakrishnan. This is her second assignment since her appointment into service in 2018. Earlier, she had served as an assistant collector in Ernakulam for a year.

After taking charge, Patil said, “I am feeling extremely glad and proud to take charge. Once I start working, I will have more ideas about the sub divisions of the district and can have more plans to what to do for the sub division.”

She said that she expects support and co-operation of the people of Thiruvanthapuram and her staff. “We should never be defeated and should never give up. With our efforts, we will always be able to achieve what we desire,” Patil was quoted as saying in media reports.

Patil was ranked 733 in civil services in her first attempt in 2016 and 124 the next year.