IFoS Full Form

• Principal Chief Conservator of Forest: This officer is the head of the forest force. The major responsibilities of this officer are to manage the forest, wildlife, and environmental issues of different states. Moreover, it is the highest position in the Indian Forest Service.
• Additional Chief Conservator of Forest: Firstly, this officer plays an important role to assist the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest. Secondly, this officer is directly answerable to the chief and should complete the duties assigned by him.
• Deputy Conservator of Forest: This officer is also known as Divisional Forest Officer. Further, the main duties of the officer are to manage the forest, wildlife, and environment-related issues.
• Assistant Conservator of Forest: The responsibility of this officer is to assist higher-level officers. Moreover, they also do some tasks according to their post which are assigned upon joining.
• Forest Range Officer (FRO): This officer is responsible for the effective management of the forest. Also, this officer has custody of government property associated with the forest. Moreover, this officer follows the Deputy Conservator of Forest.
• Maintaining forest trees is an essential task for IFoS officers. he/she needs to keep a constant watch on the illegal logging of trees & work in coordination with the security personnel & forest guards.
• As Animals are also forested resources & IFoS officers need to assure their safety & have to restrict illegal activity.
• IFoS officers have to do the required paperwork and prepare reports that need to submit to the forest department & ministry. He/she needs to conduct regular surveys of the forest & ensure that work is being done in the right way.

• The job of IFOS is permanent with attractive employee benefits.
• The salary keeps increasing with experience and promotion.
• Also, there is an added benefit of getting to reside in beautiful homes in some of the most beautiful locations. Nature lovers will be able to pursue wildlife photography as well as spend time in the natural habitat of the wild.
• Further, eco-tourism is one of the perks of being in the Indian Forest Service.

• Since Forest Range Officers work in the forest, there is the risk of animal attacks.
• Forest officers are more accountable for the government property i.e. Forests. Therefore, they need to be more careful in protecting the animals and resources in the forest.
• IFoS officers also have to face land mafia, cases related to mining, and even naxal problems.

However, every job has its disadvantages. But the real fun and satisfaction that the job brings is the ability to give back to nature, protect it, the chance to be able to spend time in some of the purest locations. This job is a dream for many, especially for nature lovers.

IFoS Prelims Syllabus (Paper 1 – GS & Paper 2 - CSAT)::

It should be noted that the syllabus of IFOS Prelims is the same as Prelims of Civil Services.

General Paper 1

• Current affairs that are of national as well as international importance.
• Indian history with more attention on the Indian national movement.
• The world geography with a special focus on India- the physical, social and economic geography of India is particularly important.
• Also, Indian polity and governance- thorough knowledge of the constitution, Panchayati raj, political system, public policies and schemes, fundamental rights, etc.
• Sustainable, economic, and social development, demographics of poverty, employment, inclusion, and social sector initiatives.
• Environment, biodiversity, social issues related to the environment, climate change, on a generic basis, Subject specialization is not required.
• General Science

General Paper 2

• English comprehension
• Communication and interpersonal skills
• Logical and analytical reasoning
• Problem-solving and decision making based questions
• General mental ability
• Basic numerical ability- orders of magnitude, number, and their relations, charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency.
• Basic English language, grammar, and vocabulary.

• 1st Paper is on General English
• 2nd paper is on General Knowledge
• Paper III, IV, V, VI are optional subjects

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

It is important to note that, unlike IAS, IPS or IRS exams where there is only 1 optional, here in IFoS candidates have to choose 2 optional subjects.The candidate must know that some subject combinations are not allowed. Also, we have created that list for you -

• Agricultural Engineering and Agriculture
• Forestry and Agriculture
• Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
• Statistics and Maths
• Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science and Agriculture.
• Not more than one engineering subjects

This is the last stage of the examination. However, the candidate must keep in mind that this stage is much more than bookish knowledge. It is about the candidate's calibre and presence of mind. Also, the selected candidate must possess the following qualities -

• Mind Alertness
• Leadership Qualities
• Balance judgement
• Physical and Mental Caliber
• The desire to explore unknown places and
• Positive attitude to the most unexpected questions

Moreover, a physical test is also a part of the selection process. In this test, the male candidates have to walk 25 km in less than 4 hours and female candidates have to walk 15 km in less than 4 hours.

TRAINING: Officers are recruited through an open competitive examination conducted by the UPSC annually and then trained for about two years by the Central Government. As forest service officials, the selected candidates have to perform various duties ranging from administrative, judicial, financial, forest resources-related crime management, thus their training curriculum follows a multi-disciplinary approach. During the training period candidates visit Lal Bahadur Shashtri national academy of Administration, Mussoorie for foundational training of nearly 3 months. After that, they are trained to Indira Gandhi National Forest Institue Dehradun, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), etc. They also go on tour in India and abroad.
DEPUTATION: Their services are placed under various State cadres and joint cadres, being an All India Service they have the mandate to serve both under the State and Central Governments. Thus they might serve in central government, state government, or international organizations.

Nationality

Citizens of India who are eligible for IFoS, can apply. Furthermore, the candidates can be from Nepal & Bhutan. However, candidates who have an Indian origin & have moved to Pakistan, Burma, East African countries of Kenya, Sri Lanka, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zaire, Zambia, Vietnam and Ethiopia can also apply for the IFoS exam. As per physical standards for the IFoS exam, candidates must meet physically fit physical criteria. Candidates should carefully go through IFoS official notification to get an idea of detailed rules & regulations.

The candidate must be of minimum 21 years old and maximum of 32 years old.

• The candidates belonging to SC/ST caste have 5 years of relaxation.
• Other Backward Classes have 3 years of relaxation.
• Also, the ex-servicemen have 5 years of relaxation.
• Disabled people have 3 years of relaxation.