UPSC Indian Forest Service Notification 2024 Out, Check IFS Exam Date, Eligibility, Total Vacancies

Indian Forest Service (IFoS) is a prestigious service for which UPSC conducts recruitment through the UPSC IFoS exam, On 24 February 2024 UPSC released the official notification announcing the exam for 2024, following which the prelims were successfully conducted and now the mains exam is scheduled from 24 November 2024 to 1 December 2024. In this article, you can read all about the Indian Forest Service Exam date, application form, eligibility, vacancy, syllabus, selection process and exam pattern.

Indian Forest Service Information

The Indian Forest Service (IFoS) is one of the three All-India Services of the Union Government. The service dates back to 1864 when it was established as the Imperial Forest Service under the British Raj but was converted in the present form in 1966.

The main responsibilities of the Indian Forest Service Officer include;

• Forest Conservation
• Wildlife Protection
• Law enforcement
• Sustainable development
• Community engagement

UPSC IFS Mains Exam Date 2024

Candidates who qualified in the prelims will now appear for the mains exam, the UPSC Indian Forest Service mains examination, scheduled from 24 November 2024 to 14 December 2024. This stage determines who will be called for the final interview round,

Final Merit List= Mains marks+interview marks.

UPSC IFS Mains 2024 Exam Schedule

UPSC IFS Exam Important Dates 2024

In the below table, details are mentioned regarding the UPSC IFS Exam Date, Interested applicants must check the Indian Forest Service Exam.

UPSC IFS Mains Admit Card 2024

The UPSC has released the Indian forest service Admit Card 2024 for the Indian Forest Service exam. You can download your hall ticket from November 14 to November 23, 2024. Use the link below to access it now:

UPSC IFS Mains 2024 Admit Card

UPSC India Forest Service Application Form

UPSC IFS examination is conducted by UPSC for which the application forms were made available in February, last date for submitting the application form was 5 March 2024, now that the prelims exam has been successfully conducted and results have been declared UPSC has opened the window to submit Detailed Application Form (DAF) on 27 August 2024 and will remain open till 5th September 2024, candidates can find the DAF notice by UPSC below

Download UPSC IFoS DAF Notice

How to apply for Indian Forest Services 2024?

1. Visit the official UPSC website https://upsc.gov.in/
2. Navigate the Home page and search for OTR option
3. Click on OTR login and enter your details
4.  Upload your documents in next stage
5. Click on Submit button to submit your details
6. Keep the id generated and password generated with you for future reference.

UPSC IFS Eligibility Criteria 2024

Before starting the preparations for the UPSC IFoS exam, candidates must check their eligibility for the exam as it is mandatory to fulfill the eligibility criteria in order to be appointed as IFoS officer, we have mentioned eligibility conditions for Indian Forest Service;

Age

• Minimum – 21 years
• Maximum – 32 years
• Age relaxation of 10, 5 and 3 years is provided to PwBDs, SC/ST and OBC respectively.

Educational Qualification

• The Candidate should have successfully passed in 10+2
• Also the candidate is required to have a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university.

Nationality

• A citizen of India
• A subject of Nepal or Bhutan or a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India
• A Person of Indian Origin migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, certain East African countries and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Number Of Attempts

• General Category – 6
• OBC – 9
• PwD – 9

UPSC IFS Vacancy 2024

With the release of the official notification for the IFoS exam 2024 by UPSC we know that there are a total of 150 vacancies to be filled with this exam, though the notification does not mention the post-wise breakdown it tells us about –

The reservation for PwBD candidates includes:

• Low Vision (LV): 2 vacancies
• Hard of Hearing (HH): 3 vacancies (1 of which is a backlog)
• Locomotor Disability (Leprosy Cured and Acid Attack Victims): 4 vacancies (2 of which are backlogs)
• With Respect to the PwBD candidates this year there are 9 vacancies, which contain 6 new vacancies and 3 backlog vacancies.

Indian Forest Service Syllabus 2024

The syllabus can be a strategic tool for candidates as it contains complete information about the areas and topics from where the questions may be asked in the examination, student should take leverage of the syllabus insights provided below

Syllabus for IFS Prelims Exam – 

Paper I (General Studies):

• 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 (Aptitude Test):

• Comprehension.
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability.
• Decision-making and problem-solving.
• General mental ability.
• Basic numeracy (Class X level) – numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.

Indian Forest Service Exam Pattern 2024

Prelims Exam –

• Consist of 2 papers each of 200 marks.
• Each correct answer is awarded 2 marks and 1/3rd marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
• Each paper is to be solved with 2 hours.

Mains Exam – 

Syllabus for IFS Mains Examination 2024 –

Paper I: General English (300 Marks)

• Essay writing.
• Understanding of English and workmanlike use of words.
• Passages for summary or précis.

Paper II: General Knowledge (300 Marks)

• General Knowledge including current events.
• Indian Polity, the political system, and the Constitution of India.
• History of India and Geography.

Papers III, IV, V, and VI: Any two optional subjects chosen by the candidate from the following list, each having two papers of 200 marks each:

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

It should be noted that there are certain combination of subjects that can’t be taken together.

Centers for Indian Forest Service Examination:

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination and the Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination will be held across multiple centers in India. A complete list of exam centers can be found in the official notice.

UPSC IFS Selection Process 2024

The IFoS exam, conducted by UPSC, selects officers for the Indian Forest Service. These officers work in roles such as Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), and Director General of Forests (DGF), and play an important role in protecting forests and wildlife, often collaborating with communities and NGOs. Aspiring IFoS officers need to understand the exam and selection process, which includes three stages.

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