https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Full of Vision, With a Mission: Beno Zephine, India’s First 100% Visually Impaired IFS Officer

Beno Zeffin created history when her appointment to Indian Foreign Service was cleared by the Union govt.
Indian Masterminds Stories

Success is achieved not by merely dreaming about it, but by working and striving hard for it. This has been proved time and again by the achievers. One such achiever with a difference is Ms. Beno Zephine, who became the first 100 per cent visually impaired IFS officer of India, thereby creating history.

Her achievement assumes special significance because earlier even a partially blind person was not considered eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.

Indian Masterminds presents her success story today, an inspiring story of how courage and determination can help to overcome all hurdles on the way to reach one’s goal.

EARLY LIFE

Born in Chennai to Luke Anthony Charles, a railway employee, and Mary Padmaja, a homemaker, Ms. Zephine went to the Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary School in her hometown. She pursued her graduation in English literature from Stella Maris College, Chennai, and did her post-graduation from Loyola College, Chennai.

Ms. Beno Zephine

In an interview to media, Ms. Zephine had said, “My family never made me feel disabled. I had a very good school life, and all the teachers were really supportive at every turn.”

WHAT INSPIRED HER

She was working as a Probationary Officer with State Bank of India when she cleared the Civil Services Examination.

Ms. Beno Zephine

Mentioning the inspiration that added fuel to her dreams, Ms. Zephine said, “I had heard that a revenue officer who had lost one of his eyes in an accident was appointed.” This incident gave her hope that even the inability to see the world would not be a limitation to achieve her dream.

HOW SHE PREPARED FOR CSE

She started preparing for the Civil Services Examination dedicatedly with all her heart. While preparing to become a civil servant, her blindness was the biggest obstacle in her way.

Despite all the obstacles, she cleared the Civil Services Examination in the year 2013-14. It was in June 2014 that Ms. Zephine came to know that she’d not just cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination but also secured an all-India rank of 343.

While preparing for the Civil Services Examination, she attended at least nine different IAS coaching centres, and in all of them, she was the only student without sight.

She said, “They were all quite helpful and other students were curious. I used to read a lot of braille books and they all wanted to know how it works.”

She used a software called JAWS (Job Access with Speech), which reads out any text on the computer screen. Though the amount of reading needed for CSE was massive, her mother helped her with all the notes and texts in her preparation for the exam.

OVERCAME ALL OBSTACLES

She was 25 years old when she overcame the obstacles and became an IFS officer. Few of the parameters had to be modified before inducting her.

Ever since Ms. Zephine has been giving motivational speeches, addressing students across the country. Even before she became a bureaucrat, her friends and family had started calling her a ‘collector’ because of her ability to stand for what she believed in.

Visually impaired since birth, Ms. Zephine never let her disability come in the way of achieving her dreams. And her extremely supportive family, friends and teachers helped her reach the place where she is today.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Nalco
Leadership Transition: Anil Kumar Singh Appointed Director (Commercial) of NALCO After PESB Selection - Know More About Him
CONCOR Logo Resized
Leadership Honoured: CONCOR CMD Sanjay Swarup Wins Dynamic Trade Facilitator of the Year at MALA 2025
bureaucracy news
Key Bureaucratic Changes: Delhi Chief Secretary IAS Dharmendra to Retire Next Month; IPS K. M. Mallikarjun Prasanna Appointed IG, NIA
F-35 Dazzles Reno
India Clarifies Position on F-35: No Formal Fighter Jet Talks Held With US, Confirms Centre in Lok Sabha
HPCL_logo_HIndustan Petroleum
HPCL Signs MoU with IIM Jammu to Foster Academic and Leadership Collaboration
Indian_Army_
Boosting Battlefield Logistics: Indian Army Signs Rs 223 Crore Deal for Next-Gen Tank Transporter Trailers
Matri Van
Green Vision for NCR: Bhupender Yadav and Manohar Lal Inaugurate Theme-Based Urban Forest ‘Matri Van’ in Aravallis
Sajad Mufti Kashmir
Who Is Former IFS Officer Sajad Mufti? He Returns to Politics, Reconnecting with People
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
How IAS Karn Satyarthi Transformed Gumla Through Empathy and Innovation
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi’s Take on Corruption, Reform, and Duty
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
What Most Indians Don't Know About Jim Corbett
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
BPSC Bihar police
From Lantern Light to Police Uniform: How Praveen Kumar from a Small Bihar Village Cracked BPSC to Become SDPO
From a lantern-lit village in Bihar to becoming an SDPO, Praveen Kumar's journey is a testament to resilience,...
IAS Priyansha Garg
Why Mindset Matters: IAS Priyansha Garg’s Mental Health Mantra for UPSC
After two failed prelims, Priyansha Garg cracked UPSC with AIR 31 in her fourth attempt, proving how...
Ashish Akshat
From Setback to State Topper: How Ashish Akshat Topped JPSC While Working Full-Time
Ashish Akshat from Dhanbad topped JPSC 2023, proving that resilience, discipline, and family support...
Social Media
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: From India’s First Sanctuary to a Tiger Conservation Success Story | International Tiger Day Special
IAS Supriya Sahu Hails Mudumalai's Role in Tiger Conservation on Tiger Day. Declared in 1940, Now Among...
Mangroves
Mangroves: Nature’s Shield Against Disasters, Says Officer Parveen Kaswan on Mangroves Day - Watch His Post Here
Mangroves, with their dense, interlaced root systems, form a mesh-like structure that serves as a buffer...
Retired IPS Inderjit Singh Sidhu
Purpose Doesn’t Retire: How 88-Year-Old Retired DIG Becomes Chandigarh’s ‘Quiet Warrior’ of Cleanliness
Inderjit Singh Sidhu’s Dawn Patrol Earns Applause, Mahindra’s Praise for a Man Who Chose Action Over...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Nalco
Leadership Transition: Anil Kumar Singh Appointed Director (Commercial) of NALCO After PESB Selection - Know More About Him
CONCOR Logo Resized
Leadership Honoured: CONCOR CMD Sanjay Swarup Wins Dynamic Trade Facilitator of the Year at MALA 2025
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT