Divya Mittal, an IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore alumna, left a high-flying finance job at JP Morgan in London to join the IAS in 2013, driven by a desire to serve India. Over 13 years, she worked in NITI Aayog and as DM in multiple Uttar Pradesh districts, notably bringing piped water to Mirzapur’s remote Lahuria Dah village, before resigning citing personal priorities.
BEING AN INDIAN ADMINISTRATION SERVICE (IAS) officer is a coveted dream of many. Aspirants pour years worth of effort and hard work just so they could crack one of India’s toughest entrance examinations, and get a shot at securing a stable, dignified government job. Many people who do end up becoming an IAS officer had probably held the dream for years. But for IAS officer Divya Mittal, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, being an IAS was a dream she chose after already settling into a well-established career in London, United Kingdom. Now, after 13 years in service, Mittal has announced her resignation in an X post.
In her resignation post shared on the social media platform, Mittal recalled her “unforgettable journey” as an IAS officer and expressed her gratitude.
Speaking to news outlet India Today, Mittal stated that her resignation was a carefully considered decision based upon her priorities, interests, and family, and was not taken because of any pressure or any trigger moment. “The IAS job is merely one chapter of my life, not my entire existence,” she said.
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An IAS officer of the 2013-batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Divya Mittal is currently posted as Special Secretary to Government of Uttar Pradesh Revenue Department, having been appointed to the position in May 2026. Her resignation is yet to be officiated and remains pending before the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Unlike many IAS officers who had ambitions of becoming one, Divya Mittal's initial plan did not entail entering into India’s civil services. She grew up in what she called “modest circumstances,” attaining her B.Tech degree in Engineering Physics from IIT Delhi in 2005 and completing her Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Bangalore in 2007. Afterwards, she moved to the United Kingdom to begin her professional career, and secured a job in the finance sector working as a exotic derivatives trader at JP Morgan. Apparently, securing a lofty job abroad was not what Mittal wanted, as being far away from India continued to bother her.
In her resignation note shared on X, Mittal confessed that she felt “incomplete” even after achieving “everything.” Her attachment to her parents and to her home country made her question what she really wanted out of her life. Even though she had a stable finance job in London, she wanted to do something that would make a meaningful impact in people’s lives and wanted to make contributions towards her country.
Subsequently, Mittal moved back to India, and made her way into India’s civil services. Mittal secured the IAS with an All India Rank of 68 in her second attempt in 2012. During her training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, she was the recipient of the the Ashok Bambawale Award for outstanding performance across the training component.
Mittal began her journey with the Indian think tank NITI Aayog in 2013, wherein she was posted as an assistant secretary for two years. Afterwards, Mittal served as District Magistrate in Deoria, Mirzapur, and Sant Kabir Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.
During her tenure as the District Magistrate of Mirzapur, Mittal worked upon a project to bring piped water to the isolated, hilly village of Lahuria Dah. The village, having a population of around 12,000, had gone years without regular piped water supply, which forced them to source water from a local spring that dried in summers. After months of planning and coordination with the concerned authorities, in August 2023, a piped water supply line was finally installed in the village and tap water was made available in every house in Lahuria Dah.
In her farewell note, Mittal recalled how Lahuria Dah left a lasting impression upon her, when an elderly woman touched her feet to thank her for bringing water into the village. She also recalled emotions of the villagers, who had finally received access to continued water supply after surveying years without one.
When she was posted in Deoria, Mittal was also involved in efforts to recover government land that had been illegally occupied. A 2025 report by Whispers of the Corridors — a news outlet dedicated to documenting the inner workings of Indian bureaucracy — credited her administration with peacefully reclaiming more than 900 instances of encroached government property, and restoring public land and community spaces for local residents.
However, Divya Mittal’s work in Lahuria Dah became a subject of political controversy and resulted in her transfer. As per a media report by The Indian Express, Mittal performed a jal pujan ceremony in Lahuria Dah on August 30, 2023, after the water pipeline was installed in the village. A local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vipul Singh, took offense to this, stating that someone from the government should have been the one to perform the ritual ceremony. The BJP leader then wrote to Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, complaining that Mittal performing the puja was against protocol. “The local MLA, MP, and others were not invited,” Singh had said.
Days later, on September 4, 2023, the water pipeline was damaged by “anti-social elements” and the supply had stopped once again. Mittal was transferred on September 1, 2023, and then put on waitlist from September 4, 2023 to February 1, 2024. In February 2024, she was posted as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh Rural Road Development Agency. As per The Indian Express Report, her transfer angered many villagers of Lahuria Dah.
Even though she cited personal reasons as the rationale, it is now speculated that the political controversy involving BJP leader Vipul Singh may have played a part in Divya Mittal’s resignation.
In her farewell note, Mittal observed that government positions and the authority that comes with them are temporary, whereas the impact a person leaves on the lives of others can endure for far longer.
Diya Mittal was born in 1983 in Rewari, Haryana. She is married to Gagandeep Singh Dhillon, a former IAS officer who resigned as Joint Director General in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 2022. The couple has two children.
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
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