Dr. Vikas Divyakirti, the founder of Drishti IAS, frequently makes headlines due to his popular UPSC preparation videos and, more recently, because of a crackdown on his coaching center in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi. This action followed a tragic incident involving the deaths of three UPSC aspirants due to flooding in the basement of Rau's IAS coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar.
A highly respected educator specialising in UPSC subjects, Dr. Divyakirti has garnered significant attention on social media, particularly Instagram, where numerous pages are dedicated to sharing clips from his lectures. His personal YouTube channel has amassed 2.95 million subscribers, while Drishti IAS's channel boasts over 11 million subscribers. In 1998, he married Dr. Taruna Verma, who holds a PhD and serves as the Director at Drishti IAS. She is also active on Instagram, with 65.5K followers.
Born on December 26, 1973, in Haryana, Dr. Divyakirti comes from a middle-class family with a strong academic background. His father was a renowned professor of Hindi literature at Maharishi Dayanand University, while his mother worked as a PGT teacher in Bhiwani. He has two elder brothers: one is a software engineer in the US, and the other serves as a DIG at the CBI.
Dr. Divyakirti began his education at Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Bhiwani district. He then pursued a BA in Hindi at Zakir Husain Delhi College, part of Delhi University. He continued his studies with postgraduate degrees in English and Hindi, and also earned MA, MPhil, and PhD qualifications. This extensive academic background positions him as one of the most qualified educators for UPSC exams in India.
After completing his education, Dr. Divyakirti started teaching at Delhi University. Alongside his teaching, he prepared for the UPSC exams under familial influence and achieved an impressive All India Rank (AIR) of 384 in 1996. Although he briefly worked for the Ministry of Home Affairs, his passion for teaching led him to establish the Drishti IAS coaching center in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi, in 1999.
In 2023, Dr. Vikas Divyakirti also made a cameo appearance as himself in the film 12th Fail, which starred Vikrant Massey.
