Meet IAS Renu Raj, doctor-turned-civil servant, who cracked UPSC in first attempt with AIR 2

Millions of Indians aspire to pass the UPSC exam and become IAS officers, but it is not easy to crack UPSC exam because it is one of the toughest exams in India. Each year, lakh IAS aspirants from all over India take the UPSC test, and only about 900 of them are successful in passing it. 

Today you will going to know about the IAS officer who was a surgeon by profession. While working as a surgeon, she took the UPSC exam after preparing for a few months and topped the UPSC in the very first attempt. Her name is IAS Renu Raj.  

Renu Raj left her medical practise to take the UPSC examination. In the hill station of Munnar, Renu Raj is known for taking decisive action against unauthorised building projects and land encroachments.

Renu Raj completed her education at Kottayam, Kerala's St. Teresa's Higher Secondary School. Her next stop was the Government Medical College in Kottayam, where she studied medicine.

Renu Raj has expressed her desire to make an impact on society in various interviews. She once stated that the difference between helping thousands of people as an IAS and only 50 to 100 people as a doctor was the reason she decided to leave the medical field. Renu Raj's father told the media in 2015 that she could only have assisted people who came to her if she had continued to practise medicine. She can assist tens of thousands of individuals as an IAS official.

“I thought that being a doctor, I could have helped 50 or 100 patients, but as a civil service officer, my one decision would benefit thousands of people. After that, I decided to give UPSC exam," Renu Raj had once said.

Renu Raj is currently serving as the District Collector of Alappuzha in Kerala after getting married to Sriram Venkataraman, who holds a rank from the UPSC.