Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Dr. Jitendra Singh on Thursday felicitated Beno Zephine, the young girl from Tamil Nadu, who has made history as a fully visually challenged candidate joining the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) here on behalf of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Expressing happiness, Dr. Singh recalled that when he took over the charge of DoPT last year, the department was confronted with a unique and peculiar case of a candidate, who had, despite her visually challenged condition, made it to the merit list of Civil Services Exam by securing Rank 343 and was keen to take up Indian Foreign Service as career, notwithstanding the constraints of the prevalent government rules.
He said that he was highly impressed by the confidence and determination of the young visually challenged girl, whose enthusiasm and zeal to work, had already earned her the title of Collector among the residents of the colony in Chennai from where she hailed.
He further said it was Zephine's unrelenting determination which inspired him and all the other colleagues in the DoPT to follow up her case with utmost sincerity and find a way to accommodate her in a befitting slot.
Dr. Singh said her appointment has enriched the Civil Services and it is not only a matter of pride for DoPT alone, but also a source of inspiration for millions of Civil Services aspirants across the country.