Indian Forest Service or IFS is one of the three civil services after IAS (Indian Administrative Service) and IPS (Indian Police Service). IFS was framed in 1966, aiming to maintain a stable discipline in nature’s ecosystem and balance in the nation’s ecology.
Forest service sectors are stationed to achieve scientific management of the country’s vegetation and forestry. IFS does include preserving and saving nature and wildlife; however, it goes deeper than imagined. The security of forests is assured by being trained and educated in various majors that come under forestry.
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Table of Contents
Indian Forest ServiceHierarchy
An IFS officer is reported by the subordinates, namely Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Conservator of Forests (CF), and reports to Head of Forest Forces (Hoff). This entire team is answerable to the Ministry of Environment, forest, and Climate change (MoEFCC).
The government appoints IFS officers for every single district that is facilitated with managerial, domestic, and financial powers in his/her allotted region to exercise them as and when required. IFS services function under a separate domain non-reliant of other stately or district affairs.
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Indian Forest Service Selection Process
Officials wishing to enter this department of service are required to clear a preliminary test under the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which is conducted at the All India level. Scores of all candidates attending the exam are evaluated and graded into three sectors.
The first cadre of selected candidates is privileged as IAS officers, the second cadre of students is felicitated as IPS officials, and the third category members qualify to become IFS personnel.
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How to apply for Indian Forest Service?
You can logon to upsc.gov.in/examinations to download the entrance test form or submit it online and get the dates for writing the exams. You can keep checking the website for the announcement of important dates and deadlines about the exam to ensure compliance with the target dates.
Indian Forest Service Recruitment
Upon getting admitted into the IFS, entrants are kept under probation and trained for three to four months at Mussoorie. After the first stage of training is complete, they are shifted to Dehradun for an elaborate, in-depth training upon completion of which they are qualified to receive a master’s degree in any discipline of life sciences.
This lasts for about two years. Entrants are taught horse riding, weapon handling, motor vehicle training, swimming, Crime Detection. Touring and trekking are also undertaken in forests in and outside of India. After the academic training, students are granted entry for an in-site internship for a year where they are assigned as deputies, secretaries, or junior levels of job. It takes about four complete years to enter into the IFS as an independent senior ranked officer.
The number of IFS officers selected every year has been fluctuating since the 1970s through the 1980s and mid-1990s, after which there has been a steady increase in the intake. Currently, about 30 or more IFS officers are recruited every year. Students have gradually begun to realize that IFS is a strong career and follow up to that.
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IFS
The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. The other two are the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS). It was established by the Government of India in 1966 under the All India Services Act, 1951.
The main mandate of the service is the implementation of the National Forest Policy with a view to ensuring the ecological stability of the country through the protection and participatory sustainable management of natural resources. The IFS officer is entirely independent of the district administration and exercises administrative, judicial, and financial powers in his own sector. Positions in the State Forestry Department, such as District / Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Conservator of Forests (CF), Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF), and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), etc., are held only by IFS officers. The Head of the Forest Forces (HoFF) is the highest-ranking IFS official in each state.
Previously, the British Government in India had established the Imperial Forest Service in 1867, which operated under the federal government until ‘Forestry’ was transferred to the Provincial List by the Government of India Act 1935, and subsequent recruitment to the Imperial Forest Service was discontinued.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, (MoEFCC) under the Government of India, is the Cadre Controlling Authority of the Indian Forest Service.
As per Rule 6 of the Indian Forest Service (Cadre) Rules, 1966 deputation of IFS officers broadly falls into two categories:[19]
- Central Deputation
- State Deputation
For Central Deputation, there are two schemes devised for the purpose of regulating appointments in the Government of India and organizations under its control.
- Central Staffing Scheme
- Non-Central Staffing Scheme
Indian Forest Service’s Exam
The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is one of the Civil Service Exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for Recruitment Officers at All India level by the Government of India for the Scientific Management of its Forestry.
To order to become an Indian Forest Service Officer, applicants must appear for the UPSC review. The IFS selection procedure consists of three stages – a preliminary, a main, and a personality test. Aspirants must remember that they must appear for the Civil Services (Preliminary) examination and qualify for the same for the second step of the test, i.e. the IFS (Main Test). Applicants who qualify for the Civil Services (Preliminary) and meet the IFS eligibility requirements will be selected for the IFS Main Examination.
Indian forest exam 2020
Applicants can apply for the Indian Forest Service Examination via the Can Online Application Form of the Civil Services Examination (CSE). The applicant must apply the application form only online. The important details of the IFS 2019 are given below. The UPSC published the preliminary dates of the Indian Forest Service Prelims & Key 2020 study. The UPSC IFS Preliminary Exam 2020 will take place on October 4, 2020, while the IFS Main Exam will take place on February 28, 2021. The online registration process will begin on 12 February 2020 and will end on 03 March 2020. The applicant must apply the application form only online. There is no offline mode.
IFS 2020 Exam Date
| Event Name | Important Dates |
| Notification Released Date Of IFS Exam | 12th February 2020 |
| Last Date to Submit Exam form | 03rd March 2020 |
| Admit Card | September 2020 |
| Examination date Preliminary: | 4th October 2020 |
| IFS Exam Date of Mains | 28th February 2021 |
| Result Announced | December 2020 |
IFS Exam 2020 Application Form
UPSC soon will be going to commence the most admired IFS 2020 examination. The youngsters have a special place for IFS especially for those who wanted to serve the nation with true dedication and loyalty. IFS stands for the Indian Forest Service Recruitment process involves certain steps. There are so many factors that one needs to keep in mind while making a move to apply for the examination and one of them is to check the eligibility criteria. Do not move ahead for applying unless and until you go through the entire eligibility details otherwise your money in buying from will be wasted badly.
How to Apply for IFS Exam 2020:
- Start by filling the application form which is available on the official website www.upsc.gov.in
- Open the recommended website and then go to ‘What’s New’. After this Press ‘DAF–(IFS 2020-21) Indian Forest Service Exam’
- You will come across an official notification on your computer screen which is consisted of info connected to the UPSC IFS Exam 2020. You are required to go through the details aptly for avoiding any issues.
- Then move UPSC Home Page. Click on the Part-I Registration link and then fill all the crucial details. It is important to upload a signature as well as a photo
- After filling the form, pay the application fee
- Once you are done with the payment task, log in to the official website again and fill the bank related info prior final submission of the form.
- Lastly, do not forget to take a print out of the application form. This will help to tackle unforeseen circumstances.
- The process to apply for IFS Exam is extremely easy but if you come across any issues then read the details again and again. An incomplete form or incorrectly filled form will not be considered valid. This will lead to cause some severe hurdles further like you will be barred from attending the exam.
- It is always suggested to keep on checking online details or read the newspaper carefully to be updated about the upcoming date for the release of the application form. The exam commencing authority provides few days to users to fill the form and submit it and if you try to submit after the fixed date, it won’t be accepted at any cost.
- Thus be very careful because after filling the application form, you will receive the hall tickets a few days before the examination.
Step-By-Step Process to Fill in the Application Form:
- Log onto an official website that is www.upsc.gov.in
- Go to ‘What’s New’. Press ‘DAF – Indian Forest Service Exam 2020’.
- The official notification will appear on screen containing info regarding UPSC IFS Exam 2020 that need to be read carefully
- Move onto the UPSC home page. Press the Part-I Registration link and fill important and crucial details. Ensure to upload photographs and signatures.
- Once the form is filled, submit the fee.
- Once the fee is submitted, again log on the official website so that required bank details can be filled before get done with the final submission.
- Make sure to take a print out of filled application for future use and in the emergency cases
Forest Exam 2020 Eligibility
Find below the Indian Forest Service Exam 2020 Eligibility Criteria. Candidates can check below Qualification, Nationality, Age Limit, Selection Process, etc:
Nationality: Candidate must be the citizen of India or a subject of Nepal, Bhutan, or a Tibetan refugee who arrived in India before 1-1-1962 intending to settle permanently into India.
Forest Exam 2020 Eligibility
Find below the Indian Forest Service Exam 2020 Eligibility Criteria. Candidates can check below Qualification, Nationality, Age Limit, Selection Process, etc:
Nationality: Candidate must be the citizen of India or a subject of Nepal, Bhutan, or a Tibetan refugee who arrived in India before 1-1-1962 intending to settle permanently into India.
Else, Candidate must be originated in India, migrated from countries such as East Africa, Pakistan, Burma, Srilanka, Zaire and Vietnam, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, intended to stay in India on the permanent basis.
Must to Have Qualification: Aspirant must have a degree of graduation with one subject or more as Forestry/ Engineering/ Chemistry/ Mathematics/ Zoology/Agriculture/ Physics/ Statistics/ Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Sciences and Botany from some of the recognized institute/ university
Age limit: Person applying for IFS should have a minimum age of 21 years and a maximum of 32. There is an age relaxation of 5 years for the candidates under categories like SC/ST. OBC category candidates will be provisioned with age relaxation of 3 years as on 1-8-2015.
Fee Charges for Application: To acquire the application form, an applicant needs to pay Rs. 100/- as an application form. Pay into any of the branches of SBI via cash or online banking provision. However, reserved categories and female aspirants exempted from paying any application fee.
Selection Process: For Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Exam 2020, a candidate has to go through the written examination which is mainly comprised of Objective Type Questions. Shortlisted candidates need to go for an interview if selected based on their performance in the written examination.
IFS Exam Pattern 2020 is as follows:
Prelims examination of IFS compiled with Civil Services. The exam will be commenced in two different stages such as:
- Stage I– Civil Services Preliminary Examination
- Stage II- Indian Forest Service Main Examination
Civil Services Preliminary Exam Pattern 2020:
- Prelims examination consisted of Paper I and Paper II which includes General Studies and Aptitude Test. Both these papers consisted of Objective Types Questions for overall 200 marks.
- An exam will be commenced in two different languages i.e. Hindi as well as English. Along with this, it is crucial to have a thorough knowledge of General Studies and Aptitude.
- The time duration will be 2 hours. Those who are blind will be given a few extra minutes to solve the paper
- For every incorrect answer, /3 marks of the total marks will be deducted
- Paper, I consisted of General Studies for 200 marks, time duration will be 2 hours
- Paper-II consisted of Aptitude test for 200 marks, time duration will be 2 hours
IFS Main Exam Pattern:
This paper consisted of six papers including General Knowledge, General English, along with two optional subjects consisted of two papers each.
- Paper I for General English consisted of 300 marks
- Paper-II for General Knowledge consisted of 300 marks
- Paper III for Optional Subject 1 (Paper 1) consisted of 200 marks
- Paper IV for Optional Subject 1 (Paper 2) consisted of 200 marks
- Paper V for Optional Subject 2 (Paper 1) consisted of 200 marks
- Paper VI for Optional Subject 2 (Paper 2) consisted of 200 marks
List of Optional Subjects are as follows:
- Agriculture
- Agricultural Engineering
- Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Forestry
- Geology
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Physics
- Statistics
- Zoology
The following mentioned combination of subjects is least permitted:
- Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering
- Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
Interview Pattern: Interview consisted of 300 marks.
Indian Forest Service Salary
The following table gives the salary and rank hierarchy of IFoS officers.
| Grade | Designation in state govt. | Designation in GOI | Basic Monthly Salary |
| Junior Time Scale | Assistant Conservator of Forests/Asst. Dy. Conservator of Forests | Assistant Inspector General of Forests | ₹56,100 |
| Senior Time Scale | Deputy Conservator of Forests | Assistant Inspector General of Forests | ₹67,700 |
| Junior Administrative Grade | Deputy Conservator of Forests | Assistant Inspector General of Forests | ₹78,800 |
| Selection Grade | Deputy Conservator of Forests (Selection Grade) | Assistant Inspector General of Forests | ₹1,18,500 |
| Super Time Scale | Conservator of Forests / Chief Wildlife Warden | Deputy Inspector General of Forests | ₹1,50,000 |
| Senior Administrative Grade | Chief Conservator of Forests | Inspector General of Forests | ₹1,75,000 |
| HAG scale | Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests | – | ₹2,00,000 |
| HAG+ Scale | Principal Chief Conservator of Forests | Additional Director General of Forests | ₹2,05,400 |
| Apex Scale | Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force) | Director-General of Forests | ₹2,25,000 |
Indian forest service exam after 12th
After passing 12th one is not eligible to become an IFS officer as the minimum educational qualification for this is Graduation Degree.
IFS – Indian Forest Service and to become an IFS officer one has to apply, appear and crack Civil Service Exam conducted by UPSC every year.
The eligible candidate must be an Indian National having either appear for the final Graduation Degree exam or pass with Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Agricultural Science/Animal Husbandry/Forestry, etc. from a recognized University within the age of 21 to 30 years with good Physical Fitness, can apply for IFS, Civil Service Exam.
The selection is through three phases:-
- CSAT – Civil Service Aptitude Test – Preliminary Exam
- Civil Service Main Exam
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