Renu Raj, hailing from Kottayam, Kerala, pursued a medical career before she decided to make a career in civil services. Her father used to work as a bus conductor and was already proud that his daughter was a successful doctor. Renu Raj, in hopes of achieving big and realizing that she could help more people by joining administrative service, gave up her medical career to become an accomplished IAS officer. Let’s read about her super inspiring journey. 

IAS officer Renu Raj

IAS Renu completed her medical studies at Government Medical College, Kottayam. Her father worked as a bus conductor to support the family, while her mother was a homemaker. Despite the financial challenges, Renu followed her passion and became a doctor. 

Achieving success

After completing her studies, Renu Raj began working as a surgeon. While practicing medicine, she started preparing for the UPSC as well. She dedicated 3 to 6 hours daily to her studies despite her busy schedule. Immense diligence towards her studies for 6-7 months, helped Renu achieve remarkable success. She appeared for the UPSC exams, and when the results were announced, she was astonished to find that she had secured an incredible second rank on her very first attempt.

Success mantra

In an interview with media, she stated that as a doctor, she could help only 50 to 100 patients, but through civil services, she could bring change to the lives of thousands. Inspired by this idea, she decided to appear for the UPSC exam. By balancing her full-time job as a doctor and UPSC preparation, she achieved success. 

Recently, IAS Renu Raj was posted as the director of the Scheduled Tribes Development Department in Wayanad. She also holds charges of other departments. 

She was previously married to a healthcare professional Dr Bhagat LS. However, after the divorce, she married IAS Sriram Venkataraman in the year 2014. He is an IAS officer from 2012 batch.