Authorities in Delhi have taken action following the tragic deaths of three UPSC aspirants due to flooding in the basement of an IAS coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar. A crackdown on alleged encroachments and illegal constructions of other coaching centers across the city has begun. On Monday, Drishti IAS, a renowned coaching center operated by educator Dr. Vikas Divyakirti, was scrutinised and authorities sealed its basement in Mukherjee Nagar, sealing off five rooms and demanding that the office contact city authorities.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti is a well-respected educator who specialises in UPSC subjects. He is popular on Instagram, with many dedicated pages showcasing short clips of his lectures. His personal YouTube channel has 2.95 million subscribers, and his coaching center, Drishti IAS, boasts over 11 million subscribers. In 1998, Dr. Vikas Divyakirti married Taruna Verma, who holds a PhD and serves as the Director at Drishti IAS. She has 65.5K followers on Instagram.
Born on December 26, 1973, into a middle-class family in Haryana, Dr. Divyakirti's father was a renowned Hindi literature professor at Maharishi Dayanand University, and his mother was a PGT teacher in Bhiwani. He has two elder brothers: one is a software engineer in the US, and the other is a DIG at the CBI.
Dr. Divyakirti attended Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Bhiwani district for his early education. He then pursued a BA in Hindi at Delhi University's Zakir Husain Delhi College. He furthered his studies with postgraduate degrees in English and Hindi, along with MA, MPhil, and PhD qualifications. This strong academic background makes him one of the most qualified professors for UPSC exams in India.
After completing his education, Dr. Divyakirti began teaching at Delhi University. Concurrently, influenced by familial expectations, he prepared for the UPSC exams and secured an impressive AIR 384 in 1996. Although he briefly worked at the Ministry of Home Affairs, his passion for teaching led him to establish the Drishti IAS coaching center in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi, in 1999.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti also made an appearance as himself in the 2023 film '12th Fail,' starring Vikrant Massey.
