Indian Forest Service: IFoS Exam Date, Notification, Syllabus, Vacancy

by Vajiram & Ravi

The UPSC Indian Forest Services (IFoS) is a prestigious examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in India. It is aimed at recruiting candidates for various posts in the Indian Forest Service, a central government organization responsible for the management and conservation of forests and wildlife in the country. Here's all you need to know about the UPSC Indian Forest Services:

Difference between UPSC CSE and UPSC IFoS Exam:

Basis	Civil Services Examination	Indian Forest Services
Conducted by	UPSC	UPSC
Eligibility Criteria	Nationality: Citizen of India Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Any Subject Age limit: 21-32(excluding relaxations)	Nationality: Citizen of India Education: Bachelor’s Degree with a Science or Engineering background Age limit: 21-32 (excluding relaxation)
No. of Optionals	One	Two
Highest Service Post	Cabinet Secretary	Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF)

IFoS Eligibility Criteria

Except for the education qualification, all the other eligibility criteria for UPSC IFoS examination is the same as UPSC Civil Services Examination.

Click here to learn more about UPSC Eligibility Criteria.

Nationality	Citizen of India
Education	Graduate from a Science or Engineering Background
IFoS Age Limit	21-32 years ( excluding relaxation category)
No. of Attempts	General - 6 SC/ST- Unlimited OBC - 9 Physically Handicapped - 9

UPSC IFoS Vacancy

According to the 2024 Notification, released on 14 February 2024, IFoS has 150 vacancies this year. Since the number of vacancies is lesser than UPSC CSE vacancies, the competition and Cut Off are usually higher in the case of the IFoS exam.

According to the UPSC Calendar 2024, the UPSC Preliminary Exam 2024 will be held on 26th May 2023. The Indian Forest Services Main Exam 2024 will be held on 24th November 2024.

IFoS Application Form

UPSC Notification 2024 is released on 14th February 2024. The application process for the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) Exam is similar to the UPSC Civil Services Examination. When applying for the IFoS exam, candidates are required to mention the specific exam they are applying for. However, candidates have the option to apply for both exams, namely the Civil Services Examination (CSE) and the Indian Forest Service (IFoS).

To apply for the IFoS exam, candidates must submit an application form specifically designed for the IFoS. The application process for the IFoS exam is conducted exclusively through online mode. Therefore, aspirants are required to fill out the application form online and submit it through the designated online platform.

Steps to Apply for IFoS Exam

Log on to IFoS Official Website.
Go to DAF - Indian Forest Examination.
Check the official notification for all important dates and eligibility requirements.
Visit the UPSC home page and, click on the link related to registration & fill required details. Please check that the documents you are uploading are authentic and have all the current information.
After the completion of the application form, complete the payment step.
Take a printout of the completed application form and keep it with you for future reference.

UPSC IFoS DAF Form

UPSC Indian Forest Services DAF Form and CSE DAF form are the same. Click here to learn all about the UPSC DAF Form and how to fill it - UPSC DAF

IFoS Syllabus 2024

IFoS Syllabus for Prelims:

The UPSC Indian Forest Service Syllabus for prelims is the same as that of the UPSC Civil Services Examination Prelims syllabus. The Prelims syllabus consists of two papers- General Studies-1 and General Studies-2 (CSAT).

General Studies-1	Current events of national and international importance, History of India and Indian National Movement, Indian and World Geography, Indian Polity and Governance, Economic and Social Development, General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity, and Climate Change, General Science
CSAT	Comprehension, Logical reasoning, and analytical ability. Decision-making, Interpersonal skills including communication skills and problem-solving, General mental ability, Basic numeracy – Class X level), and Data interpretation.

Indian Forest Service Syllabus for Mains:

Once candidates successfully clear the IFoS Prelims exam, they are required to appear in the IFoS Mains exam. It's important to note that the syllabus for the IFoS Mains exam is entirely different from the CSE Mains syllabus.

The IFoS Mains exam consists of six papers, and candidates are also required to select two optional subjects specifically for the IFoS exam. Each of these IFoS optional subjects includes two papers, resulting in a total of four optional papers.

Paper	Name of the Paper	Syllabus	Marks
Paper-1	General English	Comprehension of given passages, Precis Writing, Usage and Vocabulary, Short Essay	300
Paper-2	General Knowledge	Current events, Political system, the constitution of India, History, geography, etc.	300
Paper-3	Optional-3	Depending on the chosen subject from the IFoS optional subjects	400
Paper-4	Optional-3		400
Paper-5	Optional -4	Depending on the chosen subject from the IFoS optional list.	400
Paper-6	Optional -4		400

Indian Forest Service Optional Subjects

Candidates participating in the IFoS exam are required to select two optional subjects carefully. Each of these optional subjects will have two associated papers, leading to four optional papers in the IFoS Mains examination. This highlights the importance of candidates making thoughtful choices when deciding on their IFoS optional subjects.

List of Optional Subjects (two to be chosen) available for the UPSC IFoS Main Examination:

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

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

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

IFoS Interview

Candidates who successfully clear the IFoS Mains examination will receive e-summon letters for the Personality Test round, which is the final stage of the IFoS Exam. The Personality Test carries a weightage of 300 marks. Its purpose is to evaluate the candidate's suitability for the Indian Forest Service.

The marks obtained by candidates in both the IFoS Mains examination and the Personality Test will be considered in the preparation of the final result for the Indian Forest Service Exam. These combined marks will play a crucial role in determining the final outcome of the selection process for the IFoS.

UPSC IFoS Admit Card

The admit card for the IFoS 2024 exam will be accessible on the official website of UPSC approximately three weeks prior to the examination. Candidates have the option to download the admit card directly from the official website. It is necessary for candidates to print out their admit card upon downloading it and ensure that they bring it to the examination venue on the day of the examination along with their original photo identity card. The admit card contains important details such as the exam date and the assigned examination centre.

UPSC IFoS Cut Off

Here is the cut-off based on the UPSC Indian Forest Services final result for 2022. The cut-off for UPSC IFoS 2023 will be released once the examination procedure is completed.

Category	Final Cut-off Marks (Out of 1700)
General	900-910
OBC	860-870
SC	800-810
ST	815-825
PwBD-2	785-795
PwBD-3	690-700

UPSC IFoS Result

The UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 Result will be announced separately for each stage of the exam. Initially, the results for the IFoS Preliminary examination were declared on 12 June 2023. Candidates who have qualified in the Prelims will then proceed to the Mains examination, and the results for the Mains will be announced after the completion of the exam.

Following the Interview stage, the final merit list of successful candidates will be published. The UPSC IFoS Results will be made available on the official website of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).