First physically-challenged IAS topper, at IIM-V

Visakhapatnam: As part of the Women’s Day celebrations, IIM-V hosted Ms Ira Singhal, who overcame the challenges of a spine-related disorder and secured AIR-1 in UPSC’s Civil Services examination 2014. She belongs to the AGMUT cadre of Indian Administrative Services and is currently working as SDM in the Delhi Government. Before joining Civil Services, she worked in Cadbury India. She is an Engineer by training (Delhi University) and received a dual MBA in Marketing and Finance from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi.

She spoke about the factors that led to her choosing a career in Civil Services leaving the corporate life. She also dwelt on the many society-oriented things that can be accomplished even while in the corporate sector. She stressed the importance of having an overall perspective rather than being merely confined to domain-specific knowledge. Speaking on the women empowerment subject, she stressed that women should first believe in themselves!She responded to the questions from students with enthusiasm. Overall, it was an inspiring and enriching experience for the students.