Dr Vikas Divyakirti

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dr Vikas Divyakirti

• Dr Vikas Divyakirti is the founder and director of Drishti IAS, a coaching centre for UPSC aspirants in Delhi.

• Vikas grew up in a middle-class family in Bhiwani, Haryana, where he completed his schooling. He was interested in politics since his school days and won almost all of his school’s parliamentary elections.

  

• In an interview, he revealed that he was very poor in the English language and failed in the subject in almost every class during his schooling. However, he somehow managed to pass the annual examinations.

• Having completed his schooling in Bhiwani, Haryana, he attended Delhi University’s Zakir Husain Delhi College.

• Dr. Vikas attended Delhi University to pursue a career in politics because his father wanted him to be a politician, and he became a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

• His first year at Zakir Husain saw him become very popular, and he was active in the national agitation against the Mandal Commission formed under the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

• While he pursuing his first year at college, his family faced financial constraints, and he had to do some odd jobs including as a salesman, and selling calculators. He also worked at a printing firm and assisted his brother in his printing business. Later, they started their own printing business.

• His plan was to contest the student election and become the president of the Student Union; however, he was advised against contesting the election because it would put his life in danger, so he decided not to contest.

• While studying at Delhi University, he won many cash prizes in various debates he participated in.

• Having earned his Master’s degree, he decided to sit for the UPSC exam. He passed the UPSC examination on his first attempt in 1996 with sociology as an optional; he ranked 384th, and the CISF assigned Vikas the post of Assistant Commandant, but he was deemed medically unfit due to flat feet. He then joined the Ministry of Home Affairs’ central secretariat.

• Later, he appeared for his second attempt at the UPSC examination; however, he failed to qualify for the mains following which he started pursuing his PhD and gave his third UPSC attempt while pursuing his PhD but could not clear the interview round; this time his optional was philosophy. He also taught at DAV College for four months while preparing for his third UPSC attempt.

• In 1999, the central secretariate sent him his joining letter, but he didn’t join at that time; however, he later joined to get rid of his debts and was appointed as a desk/section officer in the Rajbhasha department under the ministry of home affairs. After working for six months, he quit his job at the ministry of home affairs as he was not enjoying his job.

• In 1999, Vikas founded the Drishti IAS Coaching Classes in Delhi for UPSC aspirants, where he became very popular for his unique teaching style. In an interview, he revealed the idea of starting Drishti IAS came to him when he was rejected for a Hindi lecturer’s post at Shivaji College, Delhi University. According to Dr. Vikas, Drishti IAS was started with a fund of Rs. 15 thousand that he borrowed from his friends with the help of which he rented chairs and classrooms; the first batch at Drishti IAS had around 12-15 students.

  

• Dr. Vikas wanted to provide his lectures in a simplified manner so that they could be understandable by each and every student, so he decided to deliver his lectures in Hindi. Later, he taught Philosophy for eleven years.

• He is the editor of the current affairs monthly magazine ‘Drishti Current Affairs Today.’

  

• Vikas has also authored the book ‘Nibandh Drishti.’

  

• He owns a YouTube channel named ‘Drishti IAS,’ which he started in 2017. He uploads videos related to study material for UPSC aspirants, lectures on different topics, and exam preparation strategies videos on his channel. As of 2021, the channel has around 6 million subscribers.

• In an interview, he revealed that at the age of 24, he started teaching UPSC aspirants while he was waiting for his posting after clearing the UPSC examination on his first attempt. The decision to take to teaching at that time was triggered by the liabilities that he had at that time as he was heavily debt-ridden.

• In his spare time, he has a habit of writing a personal diary. He also enjoys reading new books.

• Vikas is fond of animals and has a pet dog.

  

• He enjoys discussing psychology, philosophy, social issues, cinema studies, and political science.

• He has an interest in music, and every day, he starts his day listening to the song “Chadhta Sooraj Dheere Dheere” from the Bollywood film Indu Sarkar (2017). He is also a cinema lover, and in an interview, he expressed his desire to make a film. According to Dr. Vikas, his love for cinema led him to pursue a course in filmmaking at the FTII, Pune, and study film studies at an institute in Mumbai, and even once tried to pursue his PhD in arts and aesthetics at JNU.

• Dr. Vikas considers himself a travel freak, and during his college days, he went on many long drives on his bike including Delhi to Mumbai, Delhi to Patna, and Delhi to Goa.

• In an interview, he talked about his visit to New York, United States, where he watched the US Open Women’s final and Men’s semi-final matches along with his elder brother who lived there. He also experienced skydiving during his stay in the United States.

• In 2015, he tried his hand at politics and contested the Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) election in his locality in Delhi which he won.

• According to Dr. Vikas, he likes the style of Nitin Gadkari among Indian politicians.

• He enjoys alcoholic beverages on various occasions.

  

• In September 2024, Dr. Vikas received two IIFA Awards under the Best Story (Adapted) and Best Screenplay categories for the 2023 Hindi film 12th Fail.