What is IFoS Exam?

The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is one of the Civil Services Examination conducted by 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. 

Importance

IFoS is one of the three All India Services. The exam is conducted for recruitment to forestry services of India. The other two All India Services being Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS). 

Indian Forest Service is one of the Civil Services of India and belongs to the apex All India Services group. 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.

Indian Forest Service (IFoS) 2022

In order to become an Indian Forest Service officer, candidates need to appear for the examination conducted by UPSC. The IFS selection procedure consists of three stages – preliminary, main examination and personality test. 

Aspirants have to note that they need to appear for the Civil Services (Preliminary) examination and qualify the same for the second phase of the examination, i.e., IFoS (Main Examination). Candidates who qualify in the Civil Services (Preliminary) and meet the eligibility criteria of IFoS will be shortlisted for the IFoS Main Examination. 

The desiring candidates can apply for the Indian Forest Service examination through a common online application form of Civil Services Examination (CSE). The applicant has to submit the application form through online mode only. The important details regarding IFoS 2022 are given below. 

The UPSC has released the tentative dates of Indian Forest Service Prelims & Main 2022 examination. The UPSC IFoS Preliminary Exam 2022 will take place on June 05, 2022, Whereas the IFoS Main exam will be held on start from November 11, 2022 for 10 Days.

The online registration process has started from February 2, 2022, and it will end on February 22, 2022. The applicant has to submit the application form through online mode only, but there is no offline mode. Click here to know the important dates of the IFoS 2022 Exam.

The UPSC IFS Prelims 2022 qualified candidates must note that their candidature is provisional. In accordance with the Rules of the Examination, all of them have to apply again in the Detailed Application form-I (DAF) for IFoS (Main) Examination, 2022. The dates and important instructions for filling up the DAF-I and its submission will be announced in the due course on the commission’s website.

Candidates are also informed that marks, cut-off marks, and the answer keys of screening test held through Civil Services (Prelims) Examination, 2022 for IFoS (Main) Examination) will be uploaded on the commission’s website i.e. upsconline.nic.in only after the entire process of the Indian Forest Service Examination, 2022 is over i.e. after the declaration of the final result.

IFoS Notification 2022

UPSC has released the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) Examination 2022 notification on February 02, 2022. The IFS (preliminary) notification was released through the Civil Service (Preliminary) Examination 2022. Candidates who are aiming for the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) can apply online between February 02 and 22, 2022. The IFoS 2022 notification was released for approximately 110 vacancies. However, the number of vacancies is liable to alteration. 

Download UPSC IFS notification (2022)

IFoS Number of Vacancies 2022

The total number of vacancies announced in the official notification is approximately 151. However, candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and PWD categories will be provided with the reservation according to the Government. According to the official notification released by the UPSC, a few vacancies are reserved. Check the details below.

Aspirants have to note that the final number of vacancies indicated are liable to further alteration. 

IFoS Application Form 2022

Candidates who are aspiring for the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) should apply only through the Civil Services (Preliminary). There is no separate IFoS application form. However, there are a few important points aspirants should know before IFS registration.

• Candidates should satisfy the educational prerequisites set by the Commission to get eligibility for IFoS. 
• Aspirants should register for the Civil Services (Preliminary) examination and qualify in the screening test for going to the second stage of IFoS (Main) examination. 
• The qualified candidates in the Preliminary will be eligible to fill a Detailed Application Form available on official site.  
• The IFoS Main Examination will be held from November 11, 2022 Onwards.

Interested candidates are advised to visit our IFoS online application form 2022 page for detailed information. One can also check the exam fee, exam dates and other important details here.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Physical Criteria

   Aspirants must be physically fit according to the physical standards for admission to Indian Forest Service Examination. Candidates are advised to visit the IFS official notification to check the detailed rules and regulations. 

2. Nationality:

   A candidate must be

   • A citizen of India, or
   • The subject of Nepal, or
   • The subject of Bhutan, or
   • Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
   • A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries like Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia, and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India
   • Candidate belonging to categories b, c, d, and e should produce a certificate of eligibility, which has been issued by the Government of India.

   Centers in India

   • The Examination will be held at the most of states Centres in India like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat etc.
   • Applicants should note that there will be a ceiling on the number of candidates allotted to each of the Centres, except Chennai, Dispur,
     Kolkata and Nagpur
   • Allotment of Centres will be on the “first-apply-first allot” basis, and once the capacity of a particular Centre is attained, the same will be frozen
   • The Main Examination will be held on the following Centres like Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi, Dispur (Guwahati), Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur, Port Blair and Shimla

3. Educational Qualification:

   • Candidate should 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 or a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture or Forestry or Engineering of a recognised university or equivalent.
   • Candidates appearing for their degree examination (with prescribed subjects) can also apply. If they qualify on the result of the written part of the examination, they have to submit the proof of passing the required examination along with their detailed application form to be filled in at that stage.

4. Age Limit :

   Age of a candidate should be minimum 21 years and maximum of 32 years on 1st August, 2022 of the year of examination, i.e. he must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1990 and not later than 1st August, 2001. While the upper age limit will be relaxable in the following cases:

   • For Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe (SC /ST): Up to 5 years
   • Other Backward Classes (OBC): Up to 3 years
   • Defence Services personnel: Up to 3 years
   • Ex-servicemen including Commissioned officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least 5 years Military Service as on and have been released: Up to 5 years
   • ECOs/ SSCOs: Up to a maximum of five years.

   (Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three month’s notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment)

   • Blind, deaf-mute and Orthopaedically handicapped persons: Up to 10 years.

   Cumulative Age relaxation:

   • SC, ST and the OBC who are also covered under other clauses mentioned above will be eligible to grant cumulative age-relaxation under both the categories

5. Number of attempts:

   The maximum number of attempts restricted for candidates are as follows: 

   • General Candidates: 9 attempts
   • Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Candidates: No restriction
   • Other Backward Classes: 9 attempts
   • Physically handicapped- 9 attempts for general and OBC, while unlimited for SC/ST

   Appearing for one or more papers of an examination will be counted as an attempt at the examination even if the candidate failed to qualify for the selection.

Roles and Responsibilities

Few of the roles and responsibilities of Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer includes:

• One of the main roles of an IFS officer is to protect and conserve the heritage of the forest and working towards preserving the forest resources.
• Preserving the forest trees is another important task which needs to be taken seriously. As an officer one needs to keep a check on illegal logging of trees and work with the forest guards and security personnel to be alert at all times.
• As an officer one has to work towards planting more trees in the forest are and also initiate and participate in such events.
• Animals are another important forest resource and as a forest officer one needs to assure their safety and need to prevent any illegal activity that involves hurting or killing them. As an officer being alert of poachers and illegal entry in the forest area is also important.
• As an officer one will be responsible for implementing the National Forest Policy.
• As an officer one will have to chalk-out plans for legal commercial exploitation for timber etc.
• As an officer one will have to do the required paperwork and complete reports that have to be presented to the forest department and ministry.
• As an officer one will have to conduct regular surveys of the forest and guarantee that the work is rightly being done. Travelling will also be included.

IFS Examination Pattern

The pattern of IFS examination has been designed to test the academic expertise of a candidate and that candidate’s ability to present himself/herself in a systematic and coherent manner. The examination pattern intends to assess the overall intellectual traits and understanding level of the candidates.

The UPSC IFS Exam 2022 is conducted in two stages namely, Prelims and Main, which are then followed by an interview.  

Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary and Main Examinations 2022 are as follows:

1. IFS Preliminary Examination (400 Marks):

The Prelims consists of two papers of 200 marks each.

Both the question papers are of the objective type (MCQ) of two hours each

The question papers will be set in both Hindi and English. However, questions related to English Language Comprehension skills would be provided only in English.

Blind candidates would be allowed an extra 20 minutes of time for each paper.

The General Studies Paper-II of the Preliminary exam will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

2. IFS Main Examination (1700 Marks):

• Candidates who qualify Preliminary exam are called for the Main exam and on the basis of marks secured in the Main exam, they will be called for Interview
• The total marks of the Main exam and Interview sum up to produce the final result

A. The written examination consists of the following papers:

B. Interview Personality Test – 300 Marks

List of Optional Subjects for IFS Main Exam:

• Agriculture
• Agricultural Engineering
• Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
• Botany
• Chemistry
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Forestry
• Geology
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Physics
• Statistics
• Zoology

The candidates will not be allowed to offer the following combination of subjects:

• Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering
• Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
• Agriculture and Forestry
• Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Engineering subjects viz. Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering not more than one subject

IFS Questions

Indian Forest Searvice (IFS) is one of the Civil Services of India, which aims at preserving the environment by maintaining strict vigil to sustain ecological balance that are critical for survival of all forms of life. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Indian Forest Service (IFS) exam syllabus is classified into three categories namely Preliminary, Mains and Interview.

IFS Preliminary Paper

The IFS Preliminary syllabus are mainly designed to assess candidate’s comprehension on current affairs and aptitude within the stipulated time. The preliminary paper is a compulsory paper and qualifying in nature.

IFS Main Question Paper

• Main Questions

   
   

The IFS Main examination is designed to test the academic talent of the aspirant, also his/her ability to present his/ her knowledge in a clear and coherent manner.

A.) The written examination will consist of the following papers:

Paper-I General English – (300 Marks)

Aspirants will be required to write an essay in English. Other questions will be designed to test their understanding of English and workmanlike use of words. Passages will usually be set for summary or precis.

• Comprehension of given passages
• Precis Writing
• Usage and Vocabulary
• Short Essay

Paper-II General Knowledge – (300 Marks)

The General Knowledge paper includes the knowledge of current events, matters of everyday observation, and experience in their scientific aspects as may be expected of an educated person who has not made a special study of any scientific subject.

This paper will also include questions on Indian Politics including the political system and the Constitution of India, History of India and Geography of nature.

Paper-III, Paper-IV, Paper-V, and Paper-VI – (200 Marks for each paper)

Any two subjects to be selected from the list of the optional subjects mentioned in the exam pattern. Each subject will have two papers.

B.) Interview for Personality Test – (300 Marks)

Click on the attachments to download the IFS 2022 Question Paper:

Questions for Optional Subjects: