Meet doctor, daughter of bus conductor who cracked UPSC in 1st attempt while doing job, became IAS officer with AIR...

Medicine and UPSC, both are prestigious careers in India. One few get a chance to be part of one of them, and some rare people get the privilege of becoming a part of both of them by their sheer determination and persistence.

One such inspiring story is of Renu Raj, a former surgeon who quit her medical career to become an IAS officer.

Born in Kottayam, Kerala, Renu was raised in a family where her father served in a government role and worked as a bus conductor. She studied at St. Teresa's Higher Secondary School in Changanassery before earning her medical degree from the Government Medical College in Kottayam.

While working as a surgeon, Renu chose to fulfill her dream of becoming an IAS officer by preparing for the UPSC examination. 

She not only cracked the exam but also secured All India Rank of 2 in her very first attempt without coaching.

While revealing the reason behind leaving medical career, she had once said, "As a doctor, I could help 50 or 100 patients, but as a civil servant, one decision can benefit thousands of people."

During her tenure as IAS, she is renowned for her strict actions against unauthorised constructions and land encroachments in Munnar.

Presently, serving as the District Collector and District Magistrate of Wayanad, she is now married to an IAS Sriram Venkitaraman.

While this is Sriram's first marriage, Renu was earlier married to Dr. Bhagat L S, a healthcare professional, before getting divorced. Sriram became an IAS officer in 2012 and Renu achieved the same feat in 2014.

Thus, while balancing a full-time job and cracking one of the toughest exams in the country, Renu’s extraordinary success story motivates countless aspirants.