Pranjal Patil is India’s first visually impaired IAS officer. She came into limelight when she passed the UPSC entrance exam in 2015
wiki/bio
Pranjal Patil was born on Friday, 1 April 1988 (age 31 years; as in 2019) in Wadaji village, Jalgaon, Maharashtra. His zodiac sign is Aries. Pranjal was born with weak vision. According to one source, she lost her sight when she was six years old. Reportedly, Pranjal lost his vision after his eyes were exposed to direct sunlight. According to another source, one of Pranjal’s classmates hit him on the eye with a pencil. He was taken to the hospital, but doctors could not restore his vision. Doctors also said that she would soon lose the vision in her other eye and after a year, Pranjal’s vision was completely impaired and she became 100% blind.
Pranjal Patil during his younger days
After this his family moved to Mumbai and he did his schooling from Kamala Mehta School for the Blind in Dadar, Mumbai. She was a very bright student and always got good marks in exams. He studied there till 10th class. He then joined Chandibai Himmatlal Manshukhani College, Ulhasnagar, where he studied Intermediate. After graduation, he pursued Bachelor of Arts (BA) from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Pranjal then moved to New Delhi, where she joined Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and studied Master of Arts (MA). He studied Master of Philosophy (MPhil) from JNU and then did PhD in International Relations from here.
Pranjal Patil during his younger days
When she was in college, her friend read to her about the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Pranjal immediately became interested in civil services and decided that she would pursue a career in civil services. However, Pranjal wanted to pass on her first attempt, so she waited until she was ready to sit for the exam. In 2015, when she was pursuing her MPhil, she started preparing for the UPSC exam. He took the help of technology to prepare for his exam and used a software called Job Access with Speech (JAWS). JAWS is a screen reading software that helps visually impaired students read screens with text-to-speech output and refreshable braille displays.
In an interview, Pranjal said that it was very difficult for him to prepare for the exam. She had to scan the books she was supposed to prepare from; Because JAWS can only read printed documents. He also had to find a writer to prepare for his exams. The mains exam is 3 hours long, but students who use Scribe get 4 hours to complete the paper. Therefore, he had to find a scribe who could match his dictation speed. Her friend Vidushi came to help her. Pranjal was very happy with Vidushi, as she also helped her in her preparation. Pranjal once said-
I had a very good tuning with Vidushi. If I was slow in an exam she would scold me. It was like I said a word and it was written down on paper.”
Physical Appearance
Height (approx): 5′
Eye colour: black
Hair Color: Black
family and husband
Pranjal belongs to a Hindu family. His father, Lahen Singh B Patil, is an engineering assistant. His mother Jyoti Patil is a housewife. He has an elder brother who is married. Pranjal is married to Komal Singh Patil, a businessman.
Pranjal Patil with his parents
Pranjal Patil with her husband Komal Singh Patil
livelihood
In 2015, Pranjal attempted the UPSC entrance exam for the first time and she passed with AIR 773. He was allotted a job in the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS). The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) sent them a letter informing them about their job allotment and said that their training would begin from December 2016. She was excited about her allotment, but in November 2016, she was sent another letter by the DoPT that her appointment was being canceled as the Indian Railways does not hire anyone with 100% blindness.
Hearing this, Pranjal got very angry. They wrote letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and other high-ranking officials, demanding clarification and justice. He said that when there is a quota for the disabled, then why are they being refused jobs. Indian Railways also responded that they never hire someone with 100% blindness, hence, DoPT should not have allotted him the job in the first place. A few months later, he was allotted another job in the Department of Posts and Telecommunications. Patil was angry because the allotment was lower than what she was entitled to based on her qualifications. Pranjal sought help from the media and said that he had qualified the UPSC entrance exam like any other person and should be given the job on the basis of his merit.
She also met Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who assured her that she would get the job based on her merit. Suresh Prabhu even tweeted and said that Pranjal will soon be allotted a job based on his qualifications. Later she was allotted a different job and also joined the training. In 2017, Pranjal once again attempted the UPSC entrance exam and this time he qualified with AIR 124. This was a big achievement for him. She became the first blind student to qualify for IAS. He was appreciated throughout the country. People congratulated him and he was honored by Akashvani Pune on his achievement.
Pranjal Patil honored by Akashvani Pune
In 2018, he completed the first part of his training from the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. In May 2018, he took charge as the Assistant Collector of Ernakulam district of Kerala, which was also a part of his training.
Pranjal Patil on his first day as Assistant Collector of Ernakulam
On 14 October 2019, Pranjal took charge as Deputy Collector of Thiruvananthapuram and also became India’s first visually impaired IAS officer. On his first day, Thiruvananthapuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan greeted and welcomed him. He also said that his appointment was an auspicious event for Thiruvananthapuram district.
Pranjal Patil on his first day as Sub Collector
fact
- When she was in college, she used to travel from her home in Ulhasnagar to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to her college. She once said that she never had any problems while travelling, people always treated her well, and they always helped her cross the road, board the train, climb the stairs and she never faced any problems. Did not have to face.
- Pranjal never took any coaching class to prepare for the UPSC entrance exam. In an interview, she had said that she was not very disciplined in the initial days of preparation. So, he started giving tests, which helped him get the right discipline for his preparation.
- Pranjal considers Stephen Hawking and Daisaku Ikeda as her role models. Daisaku is a Japanese Buddhist and philosopher, and she follows and reads his writings every day, as it gives her confidence that she can achieve anything.
- She came into limelight in December 2018 when she became an organ donor at her brother’s wedding. She also helped the organization set up a stall at the wedding to help spread awareness about organ donation. Pranjal also said that he did this publicly to encourage more people to become organ donors.
Pranjal Patil is signing up for organ donation
- In an interview, Pranjal said-
Success does not inspire; The struggle behind success inspires you. But success is important because only then will people be interested in knowing about your struggle. The attitude and approach to do something matters and then each individual can become the basis of building a beautiful society.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn