Who Is Divya Shakti? Engineer Who Cleared UPSC Twice, Chose IAS Over IPS, Now Bihar Excise Commissioner
Divya Shakti’s journey into the Indian Administrative Service is anything but an ordinary civil services success story. An engineering graduate from BITS Pilani who also holds a Master’s degree in Economics, she first stepped into the corporate world before deciding to prepare for the UPSC Civil Services Examination. What makes her career particularly interesting is that clearing the examination once was not the end of the road for her. She cracked the UPSC examination twice, initially securing a place in the Indian Police Service and then appearing again to pursue her larger goal of joining the IAS.
Now, as a 2022-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, Divya Shakti has taken charge of an assignment that puts her at the heart of one of the state’s most closely watched administrative areas. She has been appointed Commissioner of the Prohibition, Excise and Registration Department, a post that comes with responsibility for implementing Bihar’s prohibition policy and overseeing enforcement against violations of the state’s liquor ban.
Who Is IAS Officer Divya Shakti?
Born on September 20, 1992, Divya Shakti belongs to Kothyan village in Jalalpur in Bihar’s Saran district, formerly known as Chhapra. She comes from a family with a strong academic and professional background, with her father, Dr Dhirendra Kumar Singh, having served as the medical superintendent of Government Medical College and Hospital in Bettiah before his retirement. Her mother is a homemaker, and Divya has one brother and one sister.
Her academic performance stood out from her school years. She completed her schooling in Muzaffarpur and later moved to Bokaro for her intermediate studies, eventually making her way to the prestigious BITS Pilani for higher education. At the institute, she pursued two different academic disciplines, completing a B.E. in Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Economics. The combination of technology and economics gave her a broad educational foundation before she entered professional life.
From BITS Pilani to the Corporate World
After completing her education, Divya Shakti did not immediately move towards civil services. She first worked in the corporate sector for around two years with an American investment bank/company, gaining professional experience outside government service. For many young professionals, a stable corporate career can itself become a long-term path, but Divya eventually chose a different direction.
She left the corporate world and devoted herself to preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, one of the country’s most competitive examinations. That decision would eventually transform the course of her career, taking her from the private sector into public service and, after two examination successes, from the IPS to the IAS.
Divya Shakti Cleared UPSC Twice
The most distinctive part of Divya Shakti’s career is undoubtedly her performance in the civil services examination. In her first successful attempt, she cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2019 with an All India Rank of 79. That performance earned her selection for the Indian Police Service.
But Divya had a different service in mind. Even after securing a place in the IPS, she did not abandon her ambition of becoming an IAS officer. Instead, she made the difficult decision to sit for the examination again, continuing her preparation alongside the demanding training and responsibilities associated with her first selection.
Her second attempt produced an even stronger result. She secured All India Rank 58 in the subsequent civil services examination cycle and achieved her objective of entering the Indian Administrative Service. She was later allocated the Bihar cadre, giving her an opportunity to return to her home state and build her administrative career there.
The decision to appear for UPSC again after already earning an IPS allocation is what makes her journey stand apart. She had already cleared one of the toughest examinations in the country, yet chose to take the risk of another attempt because her professional goal was more specific. The second success eventually allowed her to move into the IAS and serve Bihar as a state cadre officer.
Early Administrative Assignments in Bihar
After joining the IAS, Divya Shakti began building field experience through important administrative assignments. She served as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Danapur, in Patna, where she gained hands-on exposure to field administration and the day-to-day responsibilities associated with governance at the sub-divisional level.
She was subsequently posted as Deputy Development Commissioner-cum-Chief Executive Officer of the Zila Parishad in Kaimur. The assignment brought her closer to district-level development administration and the implementation of government programmes, giving her experience in dealing with local governance and development-related responsibilities. She was serving as DDC in Kaimur before being given her latest assignment.
Divya Shakti Takes Charge as Bihar Excise Commissioner
In August 2026, the Bihar government carried out a bureaucratic reshuffle involving six IAS officers, and Divya Shakti was appointed Excise Commissioner in the Department of Prohibition, Excise and Registration. The new responsibility marks a significant step in her administrative career because the department occupies a central position in the enforcement of Bihar’s prohibition regime.
Her appointment comes at a time when prohibition continues to remain an important policy and administrative issue in Bihar. The state’s liquor ban, one of the major policy initiatives associated with the previous Nitish Kumar government, has remained a subject of intense attention, particularly because enforcing a total prohibition regime across a large and populous state presents considerable challenges on the ground.
A Major Responsibility: Enforcing Bihar’s Liquor Ban
Bihar follows a total prohibition regime, making the Excise Department’s enforcement role particularly important. Its responsibilities include tackling the manufacture, transportation, smuggling and consumption of alcohol, while government agencies have adopted several methods to strengthen surveillance and enforcement.
The enforcement strategy includes ground-based squads, drones for aerial surveillance and specialised forces operating on rivers. These measures reflect the scale and complexity of the challenge facing the administration, especially in areas where illegal liquor networks may attempt to evade conventional enforcement mechanisms.
Despite these efforts, reports of liquor smuggling and illegal consumption continue to create difficulties for the state administration. Enforcement agencies also continue to seize illicit liquor periodically, ensuring that prohibition remains high on the government’s administrative agenda. For the newly appointed Excise Commissioner, this means dealing with an area where policy implementation, enforcement and field-level administration all intersect.
Why Her New Posting Matters
Bihar’s prohibition policy has remained part of political and administrative debate, with questions being raised over whether the existing law should be reviewed or whether the policy should continue in its present form. Against that backdrop, Divya Shakti’s appointment as Excise Commissioner assumes added significance because she will be responsible for overseeing the department charged with enforcing the prohibition framework while confronting continuing problems linked to illegal liquor supply, smuggling and violations of the law.
For a relatively young IAS officer, the assignment represents a substantial responsibility. It also adds another important chapter to a career that has already taken several unusual turns – from engineering and economics at BITS Pilani, to corporate employment, then a first UPSC success leading to the IPS, followed by a second UPSC attempt and entry into the IAS.
Divya Shakti Profile at a Glance
- Date of Birth: September 20, 1992
- Home District: Saran, Bihar, formerly Chhapra
- Native Village: Kothyan, Jalalpur
- Cadre: Bihar
- IAS Batch: 2022
- Education: B.E. in Computer Science and Master’s in Economics from BITS Pilani
- Corporate Experience: Around two years
- UPSC Civil Services Examination 2019: All India Rank 79, selected for IPS
- Subsequent UPSC Attempt: All India Rank 58, selected for IAS
- Earlier Posting: Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Danapur
- Earlier Posting: Deputy Development Commissioner-cum-CEO, Zila Parishad, Kaimur
- Current Posting: Excise Commissioner, Bihar
Divya Shakti’s story is ultimately about persistence as much as achievement. She had already secured a prestigious civil services allocation after her first UPSC success, but chose to appear again because she wanted to pursue the IAS. That second attempt worked, and her subsequent postings in Bihar have now led her to one of the state government’s most challenging enforcement assignments.
Her transition from the engineering classroom and corporate sector to the IPS and finally the IAS is unusual enough to attract attention among civil services aspirants. With her appointment as Bihar’s Excise Commissioner, she now has the opportunity to handle a department closely tied to one of the state’s most prominent and contested policy areas, adding a significant new chapter to an already distinctive administrative career.
