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UPSC IFS Exam: Indian Forest Service (IFS) is All India Services of the Union Government. It is a very coveted position and a huge number of aspirants apply every year for this position. It was constituted in the present form in 1966, although the service dates back to 1864 when it was established as the Imperial Forest Service under the British Raj. According to the official notification, a total of 110 vacancies will be recruited through Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination, 2021. The Union Public Service Commission is going to conduct a Screening Test for selection to Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination, 2021 through Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2021 which will be held on 27th June 2021. In this article, Aspirants can read everything related to the Indian Forest Service Exam such as exam pattern, syllabus, how to apply, salary, etc.
UPSC IFoS Exam: Important Dates
| Activity | Dates |
| Notification released | 4th March 2021 |
| Online Registration begins | 4th March 2021 |
| Last date for applying | 24th March 2021 |
| Prelims Exam 2021 | 27 June 2021 |
| Prelims 2021 Result | July 2021 (Tentative) |
| Main Exam 2021 | 17 Sep 2021 |
| Main 2021 result | December/January 2022 (Tentative) |
Click here to download the UPSC 2021 Official Notification [Civil Services]
Click here to download the UPSC 2021 Official Notification [Indian Forest Services]
UPSC IFoS Exam: Educational Qualification
- Civil services require any bachelor’s degree, the IFoS exam requires a science or engineering bachelor’s degree from UPSC recognized universities.
- 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 or a 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.
UPSC IFoS Exam: Age Limit
The candidates can be minimum of 21 years and maximum age of 32 years on August 1, 2020, on the year of examination. This means the candidate should not be born before August 2, 1988, and not after August 1, 1999. Age relaxation for different categories have been listed below:
- For SC/ST- up to 5 years
- OBC gets age relaxation up to 3 years
- Those belonging to Jammu and Kashmir and Domiciled from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 1989, get age relaxation up to 5 years
- Defense service personnel- up to 5 years
- Ex-servicemen and commissioned officers, ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered a minimum of 5 years of military service.
- PWD candidates: 10 years of age relaxation
UPSC IFoS Exam: Application Fees
- Candidates need to pay the application fee in online or offline mode.
| Category | Preliminary Exam Fee | Mains Exam Fee |
|---|---|---|
| General/ EWS/OBC | Rs 100 | Rs 200 |
| Females/ SC/ ST/ Persons with Benchmark Disability | Nil | Nil |
UPSC IFoS Exam: Selection Procedure
- Prelims Exam
- Mains Exam
- Interview
UPSC IFoS Exam: Exam Pattern
The Indian Forest Service Exam is conducted in three rounds. A candidate has to clear one stage to qualify for the subsequent stage. They are explained below:
Stage 1: Prelims Exam
- The preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 400 marks. the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit.
- UPSC IAS Syllabus 2020: Check Detailed Subject-wise Syllabus
- UPSC IAS Cut Off Prelims & Mains: Previous Years Cut Off
Stage 2: Mains Exam
- There are 6 papers in the IFoS mains exam.
- All are descriptive in nature. Each paper is for a duration of 3 hours.
- There are two optional subjects candidates that have to choose.
UPSC Indian Forest Service Mains Exam Papers:
| Paper | Subject | Total marks |
| Paper I | General English | 300 |
| Paper-II | General Knowledge | 300 |
| Paper III | Optional I | 200 |
| Paper IV | Optional I | 200 |
| Paper V | Optional II | 200 |
| Paper VI | Optional II | 200 |
- List of optional subjects for the IFoS main exam:
- Agriculture
- Agricultural Engineering
- Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
- Botany
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Forestry
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Physics
- Statistics
- Zoology
- Geology
- Chemistry
Candidates will not be allowed the following combination of 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.
UPSC IFoS Exam: Exam Centres
There are 80 cities from all over the countries which have exam centres for IFS prelims 2020.
| UPSC IFoS Exam Centres | ||
|---|---|---|
| Agartala | Ghaziabad | Panaji (goa) |
| Agra | Gorakhpur | Patna |
| Ajmer | Gurgaon | Port Blair |
| Ahmedabad | Gwalior | Prayagraj (allahabad) |
| Aizawl | Hyderabad | Puducherry |
| Aligarh | Imphal | Pune |
| Ananthapuru | Indore | Raipur |
| Aurangabad | Itanagar | Rajkot |
| Bengaluru | Jabalpur | Ranchi |
| Bareilly | Jaipur | Sambalpur |
| Bhopal | Jammu | Shillong |
| Bilaspur | Jodhpur | Shimla |
| Chandigarh | Jorhat | Siliguri |
| Chennai | Kochi | Srinagar |
| Coimbatore | Kohima | Thane |
| Cuttack | Kolkata | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Dehradun | Kozhikode (calicut) | Tiruchirapalli |
| Delhi | Lucknow | Tirupati |
| Dharwar | Ludhiana | Udaipur |
| Dispur | Madurai | Varanasi |
| Faridabad | Mumbai | Vellore |
| Gangtok | Mysuru | Vijayawada |
| Gautam Buddh Nagar | Nagpur | Visakhapatnam |
| Gaya | Navi Mumbai | Warang |
UPSC IFoS Exam: Salary
The following table gives the salary and rank hierarchy of IFoS officers.
| Grade | Designation in state govt. | Designation in GOI | Basic Monthly Salary |
| Junior Time Scale | Assistant Conservator of Forests/Asst. Dy. Conservator of Forests | Assistant Inspector General of Forests | ₹56,100 |
| Senior Time Scale | Deputy Conservator of Forests | Assistant Inspector General of Forests | ₹67,700 |
| Junior Administrative Grade | Deputy Conservator of Forests | Assistant Inspector General of Forests | ₹78,800 |
| Selection Grade | Deputy Conservator of Forests (Selection Grade) | Assistant Inspector General of Forests | ₹1,18,500 |
| Super Time Scale | Conservator of Forests / Chief Wildlife Warden | Deputy Inspector General of Forests | ₹1,50,000 |
| Senior Administrative Grade | Chief Conservator of Forests | Inspector General of Forests | ₹1,75,000 |
| HAG scale | Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests | – | ₹2,00,000 |
| HAG+ Scale | Principal Chief Conservator of Forests | Additional Director General of Forests |
₹2,05,400 |
| Apex Scale | Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force) | Director-General of Forests | ₹2,25,000 |
How to apply for UPSC 2021?
- Candidates are required to apply online using the website http://www.upsconline.nic.in.
- All candidates, whether already in Government Service, Government owned industrial undertakings or other similar organizations or in private employment should submit their applications direct to the Commission.
- The filling of online application contains two parts.
- In Part I registration, the candidate will have to fill in the basic information. On submission of details, the candidate will be prompted to check the details and make corrections, if any, in the application.
- Part-II Registration consists of the following Stages. filling up Payment details (except for fee-exempted candidates), uploading of Photograph, Signature, Photo Identity Card Document, selection of examination center, and Agreeing to Declaration.
- Registration of Part-I & Part-II will be treated as valid from 04-03-2021 to 24-03-2021 (6:00 P.M.)
- The candidate must press the “I agree” button after he /she finds that information supplied by him /her is in order and no correction is required. Thereafter no correction/modification shall be allowed.
- When the “I agree” button is pressed, a page with the Registration Number will be generated. Please note down the Registration Number or take a printout of the page.
- Candidates can pay the application fees online, through the Credit/Debit Card/Net banking facility of any Banks, or by cash challan in SBI bank.
Click here to apply Online for UPSC 2021
