On Sunday, late August 2026 Divya Mittal, a 2013-batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh cadre put up a post announcing her voluntary resignation from the IAS, concluding an incredible 13-year-old administrative career. “Today I have voluntarily resigned from IAS, an unforgettable journey of 13 years,” she posted with no allegations, no drama, but a sense of completion as she prepared to move on to other aspects of life she paused for the service to the nation.
Divya, who was born on 23 November 1983 and raised in a joint family in Rewari, Haryana, had a typical aspirations of a bright career and settled for nothing less than the best. Completing her B.Tech in Engineering Physics from IIT Delhi as the second runner-up, she went on to secure an MBA from IIM Bangalore. Divya then joined the financial markets as an associate in exotic derivatives at JP Morgan in London, England. However, not being in her own country “used to trouble” Divya, and she felt that the best way to utilise her IIT-Bangalore and IIM Bangalore credentials was to settle back in India and pay back to the nation some of what she had been given.
She appeared for the UPSC Civil Services exam in 2012 and was allotted the Indian Police Service. But Divya Mittal appeared again for the exam in 2013 and was among the top 68 candidates on the All-India merit list and joined the Indian Administrative Service in the Uttar Pradesh cadre in 2013. She had no intention of staying in London, working in finance markets was thrilling but she longed to do “something bigger for the country”.
During her 13-years in the IAS, Divya held several key posts including sub-divisional magistrate, magistrate in development authorities as well as the District Magistrate in Sant Kabir Nagar, Mirzapur and Deoria. It was in Mirzapur that one of her most memorable acts took place as the people of Lahuriadah (also spelt Lahuria Dah) village in the remote hills got piped water after 75 years of hardship, waiting for “some officials to bring them water”.
Divya, who is married to former civil servant Gagandeep Singh Dhillon and has two daughters has described her decision to quit as a personal choice that took into account the family needs. “IAS job is just one aspect of life,” Divya told reporters. There are no plans to turn to politics or take up a corporate job as of now; however, close sources say that Divya would like to pursue academics and writing.
In a country where politicians and bureaucrats seem to spend their time and effort on vying for positions of power and influence, Divya Mittal has chosen to step down from one such post and bid adieu to the world of IAS. While doing so, she acknowledged the tremendous opportunity that came her way as she moved from classrooms, IIT Delhi, to a trading desk in London, England and then to remote villages in search of ways to help others. But for Divya the service to the nation, however, came with a price and she knew the time to move on was now. The post that brought her joy and thrill has ended, but Divya Mittal has reminded us all that the dream offered by the soil of the motherland will always remain with us. For many who followed her illustrious career that moved from IIT classes to London’s financial markets to the dusty lanes of villages in search of development, Divya’s graceful act will always remain the most memorable.
@Rohit Manral