Senior IAS Officer Divya Mittal Steps Down After 13 Years Of Service, Pens Heartfelt Note

IAS officer Divya Mittal has announced her voluntary resignation from the civil service, stepping away from a distinguished 13-year administrative career. The 2013-batch officer shared the news in a social media post, reflecting on her time in public service and stating that while her official post might end, her mission and dreams for the nation remain unchanged.

From London to public service in India

Mittal's path to the civil services was extraordinary. Having studied engineering at IIT Delhi and management at IIM Bangalore, she initially worked in a finance job in London. But despite achieving professional success abroad, she felt like returning to India and doing something for the nation. She eventually quit the London job and returned to India. She then cleared the UPSC Civil Services examination to serve at the grassroots level.

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"Having grown up in humble surroundings, I had dreamed of a good, successful life. After burning the midnight oil to study at IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore, I landed a job in London. But even after attaining "everything," something still felt incomplete," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

"Being away from my country weighed on me. My education, my confidence, the strength to walk tall anywhere in the world-all of it was a debt owed to this soil. That debt had to be repaid. I wanted my handprints on the bricks that would build the India I had dreamed of. So I returned, and was fortunate enough to become an IAS officer."

आज मैंने 13 वर्षों की अविस्मरणीय यात्रा को अपनी इच्छा से विराम देते हुए IAS से त्यागपत्र दे दिया है।

साधारण परिवेश में पलते हुए मैंने एक अच्छे, सफल जीवन का सपना देखा था। दिन-रात एक कर IIT दिल्ली और IIM बैंगलोर से पढ़ने के बाद, लंदन में नौकरी लग गयी। पर 'सब कुछ' पा लेने पर भी कुछ… pic.twitter.com/4VRXpK8nu8

— Divya Mittal (@divyamittal_IAS) August 30, 2026

Key postings and ground-level impact

During her tenure, Mittal served in several key administrative positions across Uttar Pradesh, including District Magistrate roles in Deoria, Mirzapur, and Sant Kabir Nagar, as well as Special Secretary in the Revenue Department.

Reflecting on her field experiences, she noted that each assignment offered unique lessons, as Deoria taught her that standing up for what is right is a non-negotiable duty, and Mirzapur showed her that the word "impossible" is just an opinion, not a fact. 

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"And sitting at the feet of Mother Vindhyavasini, I learned that true power comes not from any position, but from her grace and the trust of the people," she wrote.  

"The greatest lesson of all was that the dreams I had once seen for myself had already come true; now it was time to live the dreams I saw for my people. The real peace of this life shone in those eyes-of the family that received land rights for the first time, of the differently-abled person who gained the chance to live with dignity, and of the farmer whose fields finally received water. Walking alongside their struggles, I learned that behind every government file is a person, and upholding their dignity is what justice truly means."

She also highlighted what it meant to help others. "I was a fool to think I had come to give something. The truth is, I received the most, and that debt only grew deeper. People were happier for my joy than I was myself. They looked at me with the same trust even when I was exhausted or broken. And it was that which gave me the courage to keep going. I received so much love, so much respect, so much belonging, that my lap overflowed. And a huge share of credit for this goes to those colleagues, officers, and staff who worked shoulder to shoulder with me and stood firm by my side," she said. 

"Today, my eyes are moist with gratitude. Just one scene lingers in them. That elderly mother from the hill of Lahuriya Dih, who said nothing upon seeing water reach her village for the first time, but with trembling hands touched my head and gave her blessings. The position may be left behind today, but that touch will never leave me in this lifetime. And that dream, too, will never leave-the one this soil of the country gave me."

(with inputs from Brijendra Dubey)