A Farmer's Daughter, IAS Annies Kanmani Joy Leads COVID-19 Fight In Karnataka's Kodagu

From fighting against the devastating landslides to containing the spread of the novel coronavirus today, Annies has been working hard to ensure the safety and security of her people. Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu district, Karnataka, Annies Kanmani Joy had a humble beginning. Growing up, she struggled enough to buy school books and today, her efforts and hard work have garnered accolades and now she is supervising COVID-19 situation in the locality like a boss.

The daughter of a poor farmer in Kerala, Annies became one of the first professional nurses to be selected as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in 2012.

What You Should Know

• Annies Kanmani Joy became one of the first nurses to be selected as an IAS officer in 2012.
• Today, she is the Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu in Karnataka.
• Under her care, Kodagu district has now less COVID-19 cases and it is ready to reopen.

According to reports, Kodagu is one of the few districts in the country where no new COVID-19 case has been spotted for 28 continuous days. And now, Kodagu is preparing to reopen.

Fighting poverty to making a young leader

Annies cleared the Civil Service Exams in 2012, she secured 65th rank in the examination. She holds a BSc in Nursing from the Trivandrum Medical College.

Being a bright student, Annies aspired to become a doctor. After finishing her schooling, she took the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) examination and went on to complete her graduation in nursing and became a nurse. It was her father's dream that she join the IAS.

Coming from the remote Pampakuda village in Ernakulam district, Annies took Malayalam Literature and Psychology as her optional subjects for the Civil Service exam before undergoing ICAS training in Faridabad, Haryana.

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A report by Gulf  News states “The biggest problem she faced while preparing for the exam was a lack of books and competitive magazines. Without this, the preparation for the exam was proving to be a far-fetched distance for her, but Annies decided that she would do her preparation only through the newspapers.”

Prior to moving to Kodagu as the new DC last year, she was the Tumakuru ZP Chief Executing Officer. In Kodagu, she is appointed to speed up the flood relief work.

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