In the UPSC Civil Services results declared recently, so far we have come to know of three visually impaired persons who have successfully cleared this examination.

Topping the list is Ajit Kumar (Roll number 219116) who ranked 208th. At 32, Kumar is a lecturer of Political Science in Shyamlal College of Delhi. Now totally blind, he lost his vision at the age of four or five for unknown reasons, where, according to him, he woke up one day to find that he couldn't see any more. A married man, he prepared for these examinations using talking books, readers, and computers.

At 435th rank is 30-years-old Ashish Singh Thakur (Roll number 035020) from Bilaspur. Currently working as Sales Tax Officer in  Bilaspur, he was ranked 15th when he was selected for this job in 2007. Thakur has done his MA in History (gold medalist), doing Ph.D in Modern Indian History, and uses scribes and readers for preparation and examinations. This was his seventh attempt (the last allowed). He started losing his eyesight since he was 12 or 13, and by 1996 was totally blind.

The third successful candidate is Sreenivasulu Budigi (Roll Number 107255) from Nellore district of Andhrapradesh at 583rd rank. Budigi is a teacher in a government school, and he achieved this in his fourth attempt.

If the readers get to know of any other visually impaired person who has cleared the civil services examinations successfully, do share that information with us.