About IFoS Exam

The Indian Forest Service (IFoS) is one of the Civil Services Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the recruitment officers at the All India for the scientific management of forests. Although the IFoS is one of the three All India Services, they have the mandate to serve both under the State and Central Governments. The main mandate of IFS service is the implementation of the National Forest Policy which aims to ensure environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance. An IFS officer is largely independent of district administration and exercises administrative, judicial and financial powers in their own domain. 

Exam Pattern The Indian Forest Service Exam is conducted in three rounds. They are explained below:

Stage I: Prelims 

The prelims exam for IFoS is the same as the UPSC IAS Prelims exam. 

Stage II: Mains 

 There are 6 descriptive/subjective papers in IFoS mains exam. Each paper is for a duration of 3 hours. There are two optional subjects candidates have to choose. Candidates who score higher than the cut off marks in the mains exam will be eligible for the next stage, the interview round.

IFoS Mains Exam Papers:

• English is the only medium of examination in the IFoS. All the papers will be only in English, unlike UPSC CSE mains. 
•  List of optional subjects (two to be chosen) available for the IFoS main exam:
  1. Agriculture
  2. Agricultural Engineering
  3. Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
  4. Botany
  5. Chemical Engineering
  6. Civil Engineering
  7. Forestry
  8. Mathematics
  9. Mechanical Engineering
  10. Physics
  11. Statistics
  12. Zoology
  13. Geology
  14. Chemistry
  Note: Candidates are not allowed to choose 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
• Out of the Engineering subjects - Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering – not more than one subject.
  Stage III: Interview/Personality Test
  The qualified candidate will be interviewed by the Board. The members of the board will assess the candidate on general awareness, communication skills, intellectual curiosity, critical powers of observation and assimilation, balance of judgment and alertness of mind, initiative, tact, capacity for leadership, etc. The interview will be for a total of 300 marks.
  Note: A physical test will follow the interview. Here, male candidates have to complete a 25 km walk or run in under 4 hours, and female candidates have to complete a 14 km walk or run in less than 4 hours.