Eligibility and selection Indian Forest Service Exams

The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is the Forestry service of India. It is one of the three All India Services of the Indian govt., along with the IAS and IPS; its employees are recruited by the national government but serve under the state governments or Central Government.

History of Indian Forest Service : The Indian Forest Service was created in 1966 for protection, conservation, and regeneration of forest resources. India was one of the first countries in the world to introduce scientific forest management.
In 1864, the British Raj established the Imperial Forest Department. In 1866 Dr. Dietrich Brandis, a German forest officer, was appointed Inspector General of Forests. The Imperial Forestry Service was organized subordinate to the Imperial Forest Department in 1867. The British colonial government also constituted provincial forest services and executive and subordinate services similar to the forest administrative hierarchy used today.

Officers appointed from 1867 to 1885 were trained in Germany and France, and from 1885 to 1905 at Cooper's Hill, London, a noted professional colleges of forestry. From 1905 to 1926, the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University of Edinburgh had undertaken the task of training Imperial Forestry Service officers.

From 1927 to 1932, forest officers were trained at the Imperial Forest Research Institute (FRI) at Dehradun, which had been established in 1906. The Indian Forest College (IFC) was established in the 1938 at Dehradun, and officers recruited to the Superior Forest Service by the states and provinces were trained there. Forestry, which was managed by the federal government until then, was transferred to the "provincial list" by the Government of India Act 1935, and recruitment to the Imperial Forestry Service was subsequently discontinued.

The modern Indian Forest Service was established in the year 1966, after independence, under the All India Services Act 1951. The first Inspector General of Forests, Hari Singh, was instrumental in the development of the IFS.

India has an area of 635,400 km2 designated as forests, about 19.32 percent of the country. India's forest policy was created in 1894 and revised in 1952 and again in 1988.

Eligibility and selection Indian Forest Service

Recruitment to the Forest Service is made through the Indian Forest Service Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) annually. Entry is open to candidates who 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 Agricultural Engineering from a recognised University or equivalent and who are between the ages of 21 and 30 as on July 1 of the year of the examination. Upper age limits are less restrictive for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and Other Backward Classes (SC/ST/OBC).

Notification of the Indian Forest Service Examination is generally in February. The written essay-based examination is conducted in July and is conducted in English. Each paper is of three hours' duration.

Applicants are tested in General English, General Knowledge, and two optional science subjects from a list of 14 subjects, which includes among them four branches of engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, and Agricultural). The level required for the option subjects is at least of the Honours degree level.

Candidates who qualify the written examination appear for an Interview, where they are questioned on academics; current affairs; basic knowledge of forest-related issues and policies and the status of their implementation; knowledge of the geographical features, forest cover, wildlife, and economic and cultural issues of one's community.

Training and rank structure Indian Forest Service

Selected candidates are sent for foundation training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussourie. This is followed by Forest Service-specific orientation at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy at Dehradun, with training on forest and wildlife management, soil conservation, surveying, Scheduled Tribes, and handling weapons.

After completing the academies, candidates go through a year of on-the-job field training in the state to which he or she is assigned. There is a probationary period four years during which they are posted as Assistant Conservators of Forests. On completion of this, officers are appointed to the Senior Time Scale and are entitled to be posted as the Deputy Conservators of Forests or Divisional Forest Officers in charge of districts/forest divisions.

Ranks of the Indian Forest Service are as follows:

Assistant Conservator of Forests
Deputy Conservator of Forests
Conservator of Forests (CFs)
Chief Conservator of Forests (CCFs)
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Addl.PCCFs)
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) - highest post in a State
Director General of Forests - highest post at Centre, selected from amongst the senior-most PCCFs of states.

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