The Indian Forest Service Examination (IFoS) is one of the prestigious exams by UPSC aimed at recruiting officers into the forest management and environmental protection services of India. These officers serve under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and are responsible for the sustainable management of the country’s vast forest resources.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the IFoS exam in three stages, starting with a common preliminary examination shared with the Civil Services Examination (CSE).

Exam Process:

1. Preliminary Examination

   • Exam by UPSC jointly with the CSE Prelims.

   • Consists of two objective-type papers:

     • General Studies Paper I

     • CSAT (Paper II)

   • Qualifying for IFoS Mains requires scoring above the IFoS-specific cutoff, which is typically higher than that for CSE.

2. Main Examination

   • Six descriptive papers, including:

     • General English

     • General Knowledge

     • Two Optional Subjects (each with two papers)

   • Candidates must select two subjects from a list of science- and environment-related disciplines (e.g., Forestry, Geology, Botany, Zoology, Agriculture).

3. Personality Test (Interview)

   • Focuses on assessing the candidate’s awareness, attitude towards conservation, ecological knowledge, and decision-making ability.

Eligibility:

• Educational Qualification:
  A bachelor’s degree with at least one of the following subjects:

  • Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science

  • Botany

  • Chemistry

  • Geology

  • Mathematics

  • Physics

  • Statistics

  • Zoology

  • Agriculture / Forestry / Engineering

• Nationality: Indian citizens only.

Age Limit:

• Minimum: 21 years

• Maximum: 32 years (as on 1st August of the exam year)

• Age Relaxation:

  • OBC: +3 years

  • SC/ST: +5 years

  • PwBD: +10 years