Doctor-Turned-IAS Renu Raj Left Medicine And Joined Civil Service To Help Poor | Her Story Will Motivate You

Over the years, IAS Renu Raj has revealed her dreams of making a wider impact on society and helping the masses at a larger level, something she could not have done as a doctor.

There’s no doubt that medicine is a noble profession and being a doctor gives one an opportunity to help the poor, the needy and the destitute, while also making decent money to lead a comfortable life. However, for a doctor, the scope to help people on a large scale is pretty limited compared to a civil servant who has the power to uplift and change the lives of the downtrodden at a larger scale.

In today’s dose of inspiring tales, we present you the story of a IAS Renu Raj, a doctor-turned-civil servant who realised that she could help people at a much greater level as a civil servant than a doctor ever could and thus left medicine and cracked the UPSC-CSE in her very first attempt with AIR 2 to become an IAS officer.

Who is IAS Renu Raj?

Born in a middle-class home in Kottayam, Kerala, Renu Raj is the eldest of three daughters of a retired government servant father and a homemaker mother.

From her early years, Renu was recognized as an academic genius and always emerged as one of the toppers at her school. After completing her Class 12 at the St. Teresa’s Higher Secondary School in Changanassery, Kotayam, Renu Raj cracked the medical entrance test and booked her seat at the Government Medical College at Kottayam to pursue an MBBS degree and become a doctor.

After earning her MBBS degree, Renu started working as a surgeon and during her medical practise she realized the limits of her power to help people as a doctor. In 2013, she left her practise and started her preparations for the UPSC exams. Soon, her hard-work and perseverance bore fruit and in 2014, she cracked the tough recruitment test with flying colours with All India Rank (AIR) 2.

Desire to make a wider impact

Over the years, IAS Renu Raj has revealed her dreams of making a wider impact on society and helping the masses at a larger level, something she could not have done as a doctor. In an interview, Renu Raj said the reason behind her decision to quit medicine and pursue IAS was her life goal of helping thousands if not lakhs of people, which she couldn’t have achieved as a doctor who barely gets to help 50 to 100 people.

“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 said.

Speaking about her daughter’s achievement, in 2015, Renu’s father said that as a doctor, she could only have helped those who came to her, but as an IAS officer she now has the power to help tens of thousands and the change their lives for the better.

Renu Raj is currently posted as the District Collector of Alappuzha in Kerala and is known as an iron-willed officer with a tough stance against land encroachers and other white collar criminals.

IAS Renu Raj Family

Renu Raj is the eldest of three sisters—both her younger sisters as well as her husband are doctors. In April 2022, she married IAS officer Dr. Sriram Venkitaraman, an MD at the Kerala Medical Services Corporation who later cracked the UPSC and joined civil service like his wife. Notably, Dr. Sriram Venkitaraman also secured the AIR 2 in UPSC-CSE 2012.

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