# Vikas Divyakirti

Vikas Divyakirti (born 26 December 1973) is a former civil servant, educator, author and lecturer. He was a member of Central Secretariat Service and is currently the entrepreneur and coaching head of the Drishti IAS Coaching Institute, a UPSC coaching institute based in Delhi.

## Early life and education

Vikas Divyakirti was born on 26 December 1973 in Bhiwani, Haryana. He completed his early schooling in Hindi medium at Halwasia Vidhya Vihar. After completing his schooling, he studied at Zakir Husain Delhi College, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce (honors) degree. However, he later changed his stream and pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in History at University of Delhi. Later, he studied for postgraduate degree in Hindi Literature, scoring second rank in first year at Zakir Husain Delhi College and then migrated to Hindu College, Delhi in his final year, where he finally earned Master of Arts in 1995.
He later earned Bachelor of Laws from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and then Master of Philosophy, and also Doctor of Philosophy in Hindi literature from University of Delhi.

## Career

After completing his master's degree, Divyakirti started teaching at University of Delhi as an assistant professor. Later, in 1996, he cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination on his first attempt and got All India Rank (AIR) of 384 in 1996. After getting trained at Institute of Secretariat Training and Management, he was inducted into Central Secretariat Service by Government of India. He served as section officer at Department of Official Language in Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi.
He later resigned from service after a year and continued teaching. In 1999, he founded Drishti IAS Coaching Institute in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi.
In November 2022, Divyakirti started his YouTube channel, which currently has over 3.93 M subscribers. In addition to his main channel, Vikas Divyakirti manages multiple other YouTube channels, including Drishti IAS, Drishti IAS English, Drishti Judiciary, Drishti PCS, Drishti Teaching Exams, Drishti IAS Shorts, Drishti CUET Hindi, Drishti CUET English, and Drishti Welfare Foundation. In 2023, Divyakirti made an appearance in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's biographical drama film 12th Fail, playing himself. He also contributed to the scriptwriting for this film.
   This is a historic occasion. Perhaps for the first time, Hindi cinema has tried to touch the pulse of Hindi society at such a deep level. The story of Manoj Sharma, who became IPS despite once failing in 12th class, actually shakes every person who has accepted failure as his destiny in life. The film forces him to give himself another chance, to ‘restart’ his journey!

## Personal life

Vikas is married to Taruna Verma and they have a son. He was nominated for Padma Awards in 2023. Divyakirti is the follower of Arya Samaj and thus does not believe in caste system, his surname is the result of his parents' literary interests.

## Controversies

In 2022, Divyakirti faced major criticism over his comments about the Ramayana, quoting an author that after the war, Rama said to Sita, "I (Ram) did not fight this war for you (Sita) but for the respect of my lineage. Just as ghee licked by a dog is not fit for eating, you, Sita, are not fit for me." However he reacted on his criticism saying that He didn't read Ramayana in Sanskrit and it's not what Rama is saying but the authors point of view through Ram, which according to him the poet says their word through the character. And the clips didn't conclude his full words. Sadhvi Prachi shared a clip of his statement on X, demanding a ban on his coaching institute. Later, Divyakirti clarified his views in an interview with The Lallantop, stating that whatever he claimed in the video is supported by documents.
The basement of his coaching "Drishti IAS" was sealed by municipal corporation of delhi for violating norms and illegal use of basement following deaths of multiple students in a similar coaching on 27 July 2024

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2023 | 12th Fail | Himself | | |