Indian Forest Service
The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is one of the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the recruitment officers at the All India level by the Government of India for the scientific management of its forests. IFS is one of the three All India Services other two All India Services are Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS). The exam is conducted for recruitment to forestry services of India. The IFS services are placed under various State cadres and joint cadres though they have the mandate to serve both under the State and Central Governments. The main mandate of IFS service is the implementation of the National Forest Policy which aims to ensure environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance. An IFS officer is largely independent of district administration and exercises administrative, judicial and financial powers in their own domain. All top positions in the state forest department are held by IFS officers.
How to Apply:
Detailed instructions for filling up Online Applications are available on the mentioned website below https://www.upsc.gov.in/.
Candidates will be required to complete the Online Application Form that contains two stages. Part-I and Part-II as per the instructions available in the above-mentioned site through the menu.
The candidates are required to pay the fees either by depositing the money in any branch of SBI by cash or by using the net banking facility of State Bank of India or by using any Visa/Master/RuPay Credit/Debit Card.
Before filling up Online Application, a candidate must have his photograph and signature duly scanned in the .jpg format in such a manner that each file should not exceed 300 KB each and must not be less than 50 KB in size for the photograph and signature.
A candidate must have his/her Matriculation Certificate ready prior to filling up his/her application form. The details Candidate’s Name, Father’s Name, Mother’s Name & Date of Birth to be filled in the Online Application Form of the candidate should match exactly with particulars mentioned in the Matriculation Certificate.
In addition to this, candidates should also have details of one photo ID viz. Aadhar Card/Vote Card/PAN Card/Passport/Driving Licence/Any other photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government. The details of this photo ID will have to be provided by the candidate while filling up the online application form.
The candidates will have to upload a scanned copy of the Photo ID whose details have been provided in the online application by him/her. This photo ID will be used for all future referencing and the candidate is advised to carry this ID while appearing for the Examination/Personality Test.
Applicants should avoid submitting multiple applications. However, if due to any unavoidable circumstances any applicant submits multiple applications then he must ensure that the applications with higher RID are complete in all respects.
The applicants must ensure that while filling their Application Form, they are providing their valid and active email Ids as the Commission may use an electronic mode of communication while contacting them at different stages of the examination process.
The applicants are advised to check their emails at regular intervals and ensure that the email address ending with @nic.in is directed to their inbox folder and not to the SPAM folder or any other folder.
Candidates are strongly advised to apply online well in time without waiting for the last date for submission of the online application.
Age limits
(a) The minimum age is 21 years and the maximum age of 32 years
(b) The upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable:-
(i) up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.
(ii) up to a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes who are eligible to
avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.
(iii) up to a maximum of three years in the case of Defence Services personnel disabled in operations during hostilities
with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof:
(iv) up to a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen
(v) up to a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs
(vi) up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities are:-
low vision, Partially deaf and locomotor disability
MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:
The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree with at least one of the subjects namely Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, and Zoology
Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Forestry or in Engineering of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.
PENALTY FOR WRONG ANSWERS :
Candidates should note that there will be a penalty (Negative Marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type Question Papers. For both writing and marking answers in the OMR sheet, candidates must use a black ball pen only. Pens with any other colors are prohibited. Do not use a Pencil or Ink pen.
FEE
Candidates applying (accepting Female/SC/ST/PwBD candidates who are exempted from payment of fee) for Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination are required to pay a fee of Rs.100/- (Rupees One Hundred only) either by depositing the money in any Branch of SBI by cash, or by using net banking facility of State Bank of India or by using Visa/Master/RuPay Credit/Debit card.
Syllabus
Candidates are advised to go through the Syllabus published in this Section for the Preliminary Examination and the Main Examination.
Part A-Preliminary Examination
Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours
• Current events of national and international importance
• 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, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development- Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector
Initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change - that do not require subject
specialization.
• General Science.
Paper-II-(200 marks) Duration: Two hours
• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision making and problem-solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts,
graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. - Class X level)
Note 1: Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum
qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
Note 2: The questions will be of multiple-choice, objective type.
Note 3: It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination
for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not
appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination.
Part B-Main Examination
The standard of papers in General English and General Knowledge will be such as may be expected of a Science or
An engineering graduate of an Indian University.
THE SCOPE OF THE SYLLABUS FOR OPTIONAL SUBJECT PAPERS FOR THE EXAMINATION IS BROADLY OF
THE HONOURS DEGREE LEVEL I.E. A LEVEL HIGHER THAN THE BACHELOR’S DEGREE AND LOWER THAN
THE MASTER’S DEGREE. IN THE CASE OF ENGINEERING SUBJECTS, THE LEVEL CORRESPONDS TO THE
BACHELOR’S DEGREE.
There will be no practical examination in any of the subjects and for the syllabus, you can refer to the pdf below
