Vikas Divyakirti: Journey from IAS officer to founder of Drishti IAS

If you are a UPSC aspirant and familiar with educational YouTube videos, there are chances that you know IAS Vikas Divyakirti. The founder of Drishti IAS is a well-known face in the UPSC world. 

However, many of us do not know about his journey from a middle-class family to becoming an IAS officer and subsequently quitting IAS to start the famous UPSC coaching centre Drishti IAS.

Let’s take a look into his life journey here: 

Special attachment to Hindi

Dr Vikas Divyakirti was born on December 26, 1973, in a middle-class family in Haryana. He was a brilliant student since childhood. He has a great affinity for Hindi as both his parents were professors of Hindi literature. After his schooling and Plus II, he did his BA from Delhi University. Due to his love for Hindi literature, he did MA, MPhil and then PhD in Hindi. This apart, Divyakirti has also obtained a post-graduation degree in English-to-Hindi translation. He was the person to fight for Hindi-medium students and fought for civil aspirants opting for the exam in their local language. 

DU teacher to IAS officer

Divyakirti originally started his career as a teacher at Delhi University. However, he cleared the UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) on his first attempt in 1996. As an IAS officer, he was assigned to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. He worked there for a year. However, he did not like the job and showed more interest in teaching children. He resigned only after working for a year.

Quitting IAS to open Drishti IAS

Being interested in teaching children, he decided to open a coaching centre. In this way, in 1999, he laid the foundation of 'The Drishti IAS Coaching Institute in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi. The coaching institute is now very popular all over the country today. Along with Delhi, it also has branches in Jaipur of Rajasthan and Prayagraj of Uttar Pradesh.

YouTube channel

Drishti IAS has more than 95 lakh subscribers on its official YouTube channel. Its Instagram account also has over 51900 followers. Divyakirti breaks down complicated subjects on current affairs in the Hindi language.

Teaching style

Vikash is known for his unique teaching style, mostly in Hindi. He clears complex topics and concepts in a simple form with a great sense of humour. Students, especially from Hindi mediums, prefer to join his coaching because he mostly teaches in Hindi. He is known for his simple living and humble nature. 

Controversy on Lord Ram & Sita

A Twitter campaign is being launched demanding a ban on his coaching centre Drishti IAS after a video of him allegedly making ‘absurd’ remarks on Lord Ram and Sita. People are tweeting that their sentiments have been hurt because of the remarks. However, he maintained that he was quoting poet Tulsidas and his literature. He said that his remarks were cut-short and later released the original video.