Meet Vikas Divyakirti — Founder of Drishti IAS, Now Under Radar After Deaths of 3 UPSC Aspirants

New Delhi: Two days after the tragic death of three UPSC aspirants of Rau's IAS Study Circle, several other IAS coaching institutes have been sealed for flouting rules.

One of the institutes sealed, is Drishti IAS, a popular coaching centre, run by Vikas Divyakirti, an equally popular name in the civil services circuit.

Who is Vikas Divyakirti, know all about him…

Who is Vikas Divyakirti?

A former civil servant, Vikas Divyakirti is an educator, YouTuber and author. He founded the very popular UPSC coaching institute Drishti IAS in Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar in the year 1999.

Currently, Vikas Divyakirti is the Managing Director and Coaching Head of Drishti IAS; his wife Taruna Verma, who holds a PhD, serves as the Director of Drishti IAS.

Vikas Divyakirti Educational Qualifications

Born and brought up in Haryana, Vikas Divyakirti did his schooling from Saraswati Shishu Mandir in the Bhiwani district and then did his BA in Hindu from Zakir Hussain Delhi College, University of Delhi.

After college, he received a postgraduate degree in English and Hindi and also pursued MA, MPhil and and PhD.

Vikas Divyakirti was working as a faculty member at the University of Delhi when he started preparing for civil services and in 1996, he secured AIR 384.

Vikas Divyakirti, Founder of Drishti IAS

On clearing the civil services, Vikas Divyakirti began working in the Ministry of Home Affairs but his passion for teaching was bigger than his profession.

A couple of years later, he quit his job and established Drishti IAS in 1999; ever since, he has been educating and guiding UPSC aspirants from across the country.

Vikas Divyakirti began his YouTube channel in 2022 and currently, it has over 2.5 million subscribers.

Vikas Divyakirti in 12th Fail

Apart from his YouTube videos, Vikas Divyakirti was recently seen on the screen as a part of the 2023 Bollywood release ‘12th Fail’ starring Vikrant Massey, which was based on the life of IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma. 

Vikas Divyakirti appeared in the Vidhu Vinod Chopra-directed film as himself and his appearance on screen was widely appreciated. He had also contributed to the scriptwriting of the film. 

Vikas Divyakirti and Drishti IAS Under Scanner after Delhi Tragedy

Days after the recent deaths of 3 UPSC aspirants in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed the basement of the Drishti IAS coaching institute in Mukherjee Nagar for violating building regulations. 

According to the MCD, the basement, which should be used solely for storage, was being used for conducting coaching classes at the institute (Drishti IAS) run by educator Vikas Divyakirti.