Girl with 80 per cent vision loss cracks CAT; gets into IIM-Ahmedabad

A Bachelor of Business Admintration, Prachi Sukhwani has finally achieved what she wanted to. Despite her deteriorating vision, the girl has cracked the Common Admission Test (CAT). She is studying at Maharaja Sayajirao University’s Faculty of Commerce and has gained admission to Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Prachi is suffering from macular dystrophy, also called retinal degradation since she was in standard III and over the years she has lost over 80% vision.

The disease is a rare genetic disorder and unfortunately has no cure. But Prachi was determined towards her goal. "My short term goal is to join a company, preferably a multinational. Once I get some experience, I will have my own start-up. But my long term goal is to open an NGO for the blind," Prachi, who had scored 98.55 percentile in CAT 2016 in which she had appeared as a person with a disability, told TOI.

Prachi’s father told that she was regularly taken to Chennai for treatment where doctors advised her to wear reading glasses. "But she is so engrossed in studies that she finds even those glasses to be an obstacle for her. She got calls from all the top three IIMs, IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Kolkata, and appeared for the interviews," he said. 

Congratulatory notes flooded on social media groups of MSU, when she was giving her last semester exam at BBA. "I have been associated with the BBA programme since its inception in 1993. But this is one of the proudest moments. Prachi deserves special applause for her success despite all odds. Her success is an inspiration for everybody," said professor Sharad Bansal, dean of Faculty of Commerce.