For 26-year-old Vigneesh, clearing the NIACL AO exam meant earning social respect for him and his family. He believes with this, he will be able to provide a comfortable life to his aging parents.
Vigneesh DM was working in a private firm (2019) when his father suffered from a heart attack. He turned to his company for help but they refused stating that to avail insurance benefits, employees have to be with the company for three years. That moment was etched in Vigneesh’s memory and led him to switch to the banking sector.
Today, he is an Administrative Officer (AO) at ‘The New India Assurance Company Limited.’ But his journey hasn’t been as smooth. Hailing from Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, he was born to parents who weren’t educated but encouraged him to study. He was able to secure a seat at Rajalakshmi Engineering College in Chennai. After graduating in 2017, he worked with a private company for two years till his father’s health deteriorated.
After quitting his job, he took care of his father and once everything fell back on track, Vigneesh decided to apply for a government job. Even as a child, his parents wanted him to pursue a government job as they had witnessed the kind of respect government officials got. He studied hard and joined Veranda Race coaching to prepare for banking exams.
Interestingly, Vigneesh and his parents had no bank account till 2015. His father used to travel from his village every month and give him money for his expenses. It was during his college years that Vigneesh got introduced to the banking system and understood its importance. This piqued interest in banking helped him decide which government exam he wanted to appear for. He began preparing in 2019 but then the Covid wave took over and everything got temporarily shut. The 26-year-old had to return to his hometown for some time.
In 2022, he came back to Chennai to appear for government tests for banking and insurance as his hometown doesn’t have any centres for exams. Since there were multiple exams, he chose to stay in Chennai for a couple of months. In the meantime, he picked up a job as a part-time Zomato delivery partner to manage his expenses. He earned somewhere between R 3,000 a week to Rs 10,000 a month depending upon the hours he worked for.
Sharing his Zomato experience he recalls how some people used to be really kind to him while there were times when he had to climb 12 floors to deliver an order as the elevator wasn’t functioning. He, however, ensures that he goes down to collect a Zomato order so that the delivery partner is spared some hassle.
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