'Middle-class' Ramasundaram takes charge as SSB DG

Senior IPS officer Archana Ramasundaram on Wednesday took charge as the Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), thereby becoming the first woman to head a paramilitary force.

After taking charge of one of the most challenging posts, Ramasundaram threw light on her modest background and urged the women to never give up their dreams.

"I belonged to a middle-class family. My education has also been in very normal schools. But my parents had continually encouraged me to enter the Police force and especially my husband had supported me a lot. If I being a middle-class woman can reach here then it will not be difficult for anyone. Everybody has dreams, they just need an opportunity," she told ANI.

58-year-old Ramasundaram further said that her post was a challenging job in itself and thanked the government for reposing faith in her.

The SSB is entrusted with guarding the country's frontiers with Nepal and Bhutan. The other four paramilitary forces are the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).