SPOTLIGHT: Defying all odds, when a Railway worker's daughter became 1st fully visually impaired IFS

It was only through perseverance and hard work that Beno Zephine's lifelong dream of becoming a civil services officer came true. Beno demonstrates to us that persistence can undoubtedly move mountains as she is the first Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer who is completely blind. At the time of her 2015 IFS induction, Zephine was only 25 years old. In 2012, she made her debut in the competitive UPSC examinations, passing the preliminary exams but failing the mains. She gave it another go the next year, and in the 2013 Civil Services Examination, she came in at position 343.

SBI Probationary Officer

Zephine, who attended the Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary school for the blind in her hometown of Chennai, was born to railway worker Luke Anthony Charles and homemaker Mary Padmaja. She attended Loyola College in Chennai for her post-graduation after earning her English literature degree from Stella Maris College in Chennai. Prior to the Ministry of External Affairs contacting her to confirm her IFS selection, she was employed by the State Bank of India as a probationary officer. Although the central government had to change some requirements before she could be inducted, she was appointed a year after passing the Civil Services Examination.

Civil Services Preparation

With all her heart, she began her rigorous preparation for the Civil Services Examination. The largest challenge she faced as she prepared to become a civil servant was her blindness. She passed the 2013–14 Civil Services Examination in spite of all the challenges. During her preparation for the Civil Services Examination, she attended no fewer than nine IAS coaching centres, where she was the only student without sight. The program she was using to read aloud any text on the computer screen is called JAWS (Job Access with Speech). Her mother provided all the notes and texts she needed to prepare for the CSE exam, even though she had to read a ton.

Zephine has never allowed her disability to stand in the way of her achieving her goals since she was young. Zephine mastered all of it, whether it was using Job Access With Speech (JAWS), a program that enables people with visual impairments to read from a computer screen or a mobile device, or reading study materials in Braille. Her mother spent hours reading to her, and her father was a huge support system as well. Zephine has stated in interviews that she endeavors to bring about change and is constantly conscious of society. She demonstrates how to never give up on our goals and make the most of the resources at our disposal, making her story an inspiration to all of us.