THE INDIAN FOREST SERVICE:
The Indian Forest Service (IFoS) is one of the three All India Services of the Union Government conducting by UPSC.
Indian Forest Service is usually denoted as IFoS, while the Indian Foreign Service is mentioned as IFS.
UPSC IFS is also a part of the Civil Services Exam, it comes under All India service. Therefore, candidates should be aware of the difference between the UPSC IFS and IFOS, before applying as per their requirement.
An IFoS officer will be responsible for dealing with the external affairs of the country which includes diplomacy, trade as well as cultural relations. IFS officer has several benefits, such as free accommodation, transportation, retirement benefits, pension and moreover, it is a highly secured job that provides the opportunity to stay and study abroad.
Different Stages of IFoS Exam
On this page, we can get to know into all details about the Indian Forest Service Exam-pattern, syllabus, the procedure for candidates to the selection, how to apply, salary, etc.
The Indian Forest Service Exam is conducted in three rounds like other UPS exams. A candidate has to qualify the first stage for getting into the next one and further, they are explained below:
Stage 1: Prelims Exam
Since the number of vacancies is comparably less, the cut off for the IFoS exam is also higher than for the IAS exam.
There are two papers, GS I and CSAT, both of the exams are in objective type.
General Studies Paper-1 Syllabus:
- Current affairs of national and international events.
- History of India and Indian National Movement.
- Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
- Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
- Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty in India, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, and more.
- General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change- that do not require subject specialization.
- General Science.
General Studies Paper-2 (CSAT) Syllabus:
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
- Logical reasoning, analytical ability, and comprehension.
- Decision-making, logical thinking, problem-solving and general mental ability.
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude and more it includes from Class10th basis.
- Data interpretation includes charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency and it also from the Class 10th level.
- language comprehension skills which are in the Class 10th level.
Stage 2: Mains Exam:
- There are total of 6 papers in the IFoS mains exam.
- All the papers are descriptive in nature, and exam duration for each paper is of 3 hours.
| Papers | Subjects | Marks |
| Paper 1 | General English | 300 |
| Paper 2 | General Knowledge | 300 |
| Paper 3 | Optional 1 | 200 |
| Paper 4 | Optional 1 | 200 |
| Paper 5 | Optional 2 | 200 |
| Paper 6 | Optional 2 | 200 |
.
There are two optional subjects, candidates can choose of their own.
List of optional subjects available for the IFoS main exam:
Two of them should be chosen.
- Agriculture
- Agricultural Engineering
- Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
- Botany
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Forestry
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Physics
- Statistics
- Zoology
- Geology
- Chemistry
Note :
The candidates are not permitted to allow the following combination to be selected as optional subjects:
- Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
- Of the Engineering subjects namely, Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering – not more than one subject.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Candidates must also note that all the papers will be only in English and this is the only medium of examination in the IFoS.
Candidates scoring higher than cut off marks will be selected for the next round, which is Interview.
Stage 3: Interview:
The interview will be held for total marks of 300.
The candidate will be expected to have an interest in general awareness, communication skills, intellectual curiosity, critical powers of observation and assimilation, the balance of judgment and alertness of mind, initiative, capacity for leadership, etc.
The candidate will be carefully watched and interviewed by a board of panel.
Next process:
Next will be physical training with the selected candidates in a personal interview. Here, four hours will be allotted to complete to male and female to complete 25km and 14km walk or run respectively.
Eligibility for the exam:
The eligibility conditions for the IFoS exams as follows;
- Nationality
- Age limit
- Number of attempts
- Education
The nationality, age limit, and na umber of efforts will remain the same as for the civil services exam.
To appear for the Ithe FS exam, one must have completed graduation in any one of the following subjects in a recognized university.
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Geology
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Statistics
- Zoology
- Agriculture
- Forestry
- Engineering
His /her age limit is 21 years
Salary details :
Here are the salary details for various posts of IFS officers,
| Officer posts | Salary details |
| Principal Chief Conservator of forest | 15 lakh per Annum (No Grade Pay ) |
| Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest | 14 lakh per Annum (Grade Pay-Rs. 12,000) |
| Inspector General of Forest | 13 lakh Per Annum(Grade Pay-Rs. 10,000) |
| Deputy Inspector General of Forest | 12 lakh per Annum(Grade Pay-Rs.8,700) |
| Assistant Inspector General of Forest | 10 lakh per Annum(Grade Pay-Rs. 7,600) |
| Senior Time Scale | Rs. 15,600-Rs. 3900 (and Grade Pay-Rs 6600) per month |
| Junior Time Scale | Rs. 15,600-Rs. 3900 (and Grade Pay-Rs. 5400) per month |
IMPORTANT LINKS:-
1. Syllabus of IFoS
2. Previous Year Paper
3.Sample Paper