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UPSC IFoS Gov Exam | Application Form, Syllabus & Eligibility - Easy Shiksha

UPSC IFoS Exam: Eligibility, Application Form, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Admit Card & Result

Updated On - Oct 2, 2023

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Rambo Stoley

Indian Forest Service (IFoS) is one of the prestigious services of All India Services. UPSC IFoS 2023 is a part of the IAS (UPSC CSE) exam. The exam is conducted once a year. The exam has been conducted on October 10, 2023.

UPSC IFoS Highlights

Particulars Details
Name of the Exam Indian Forest Services
Conducting Body Union Public Service Commission
Level of exam National
Frequency Annually
Vacancy 110
Mode of Application Online
Application Fees INR 100/-
Mode of the Exam Online
Language Hindi and English
Selection Process Prelims
Mains Interview
Official Website https://www.upsc.gov.in/

Notification

The UPSC has released the UPSC IFoS 2023 Official Notification and opened the online application window to apply. The eligibility criteria, exam pattern, and other details regarding the exam have also been released in the official notification.

Dates

Events Important Dates
UPSC IFoS Official Notification March 04, 2023
UPSC IFoS Application Form March 04 - 24, 2023
UPSC IFoS Online Application Withdrawal March 31 - April 06, 2023.
UPSC IFoS Admit Card May 2023
UPSC IFoS Prelims Exam October 10, 2023 (1 day)
UPSC IFoS Prelims Result August 2023
UPSC IFoS Mains Exam November 21, 2023
UPSC IFoS Mains Result January 2022
UPSC IFoS Final Merit List March 2022

Vacancy

As per the latest notification, the total number of vacancies declared by the UPSC is 110 tentatively.

Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and PWD in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government.

Eligibility Criteria 2023

All the criteria are mentioned in the official notification by the conducting body. The primary criteria are that the candidate must be Indian to apply for the UPSC IFoS 2023 exam. Here are other important criteria:

  • The candidates can be minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 32 years on August 1, 2023, on the year of examination. This means the candidate should not be born before August 2, 1989, and not after August 1, 2000.
  • Candidates must have a graduation degree in Botany/ Chemistry/ Geology/ Mathematics/ Physics/ Statistics/ Zoology or a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture or Forestry or engineering.

2023 Online Application

  • The application process for UPSC IFoS 2023 has started on March 04, 2023. The date for submission of the online application process for UPSC IFS Prelims 2023 is March 24, 2023. The last date for fees payment is March 24, 2023, till 6.00 pm.
  • The fees for the UPSC IFoS 2023 application are INR 100 for general category male candidates and OBC. SC/ST/PWD/ex-servicemen and women are exempted from fees payment.
  • The payment can be done through net banking, debit, and credit card, or by submitting cash to the respective and authorized bank branch along with the print-out of the e-challan.

Admit Card

The candidates who fill the application form successfully will be able to download the admit card for UPSC IFoS 2023 Prelims exam.

The conducting body releases separate admit cards for each test.

  • The UPSC IFoS 2023 Prelims exam is expected to be conducted on June 27, 2023. Therefore, the admit card for this exam will be released between May and June 2023.
  • The facility of downloading the UPSC IFS 2023 Mains Admit Card will remain available till the day of the exam. The candidates can download their admit card by using roll number, registration number, and other details on the login page.

Exam Centers

There are 80 cities from all over the countries which have exam centers 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
Anantapur Indore Raipur
Aurangabad Itanagar Rajkot
Bengaluru Jabalpur Ranchi
Bareilly Jaipur Sambalpur
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 Warangal
  • Allotment of Centres will be on the "first apply-first allot" basis, and once the capacity of a particular Centre is attained, the same will be frozen.
  • Applicants, who cannot get a Centre of their choice due to ceiling, will be required to choose a Centre from the remaining ones.

Exam Pattern

The UPSC IFoS has three stages of the exam as Prelims, Mains, and Interview. Here is the UPSC IFoS 2023 exam pattern for the mains and prelims exams.

UPSC IFoS Prelims Exam Pattern
  • The UPSC IFoS prelims have two papers- general studies 1, and general studies 2.
  • Each paper has 200 marks and the total marks of prelims are 400.
  • Both papers have objective-type questions.
  • Each question carries 1 mark and there is a negative marking of 0.33 marks if the answer is wrong. There is no negative marking if you leave a question unattempted.
  • The candidates will get two hours for each paper which means a total of 4 hours is allotted for the prelims exam.
Paper Subjects Maximum Marks Time Duration
Paper 1 General Studies 200 2 hours
Paper 2 Civil Services Aptitude Test 200 2 hours
UPSC IFoS Mains Exam Pattern
  • There are six papers to be completed for the mains exam.
  • Paper 1 and 2 have 300 marks each while, Paper 3, 4, 5, and 6 carry 200 marks each.
  • The total marks for the mains exam are 1400 marks.
  • The candidates will get 3 hours for each paper.
  • The papers are descriptive.

Syllabus

The syllabus for UPSC IFoS is vast and unlike IAS, in the mains, the syllabus gets limited and focused on the knowledge solely required for the job of an IFoS officer. Read UPSC IFoS Exam Pattern and Syllabus in Detail.

Papers Topics
General Paper-1
  • Current affairs that are of national as well as international importance
  • Indian history with special emphasis on Indian national movement
  • The world geography with a specific focus on India- the physical, social and economic geography of India is particularly important
  • Indian polity and governance- thorough knowledge of the constitution, Panchayati raj, political system, public policies and schemes, fundamental rights, etc.
  • Sustainable development, economic and social development, demographics of poverty, employment, inclusion, and social sector initiatives.
  • Environment, biodiversity, social issues related to the environment, climate change, on a generic basis, and subject specialization are not required.
  • General Science.
General Paper 2
  • English comprehension
  • Communication and interpersonal skills
  • Logical and analytical reasoning
  • Problem-solving and decision making based questions
  • General mental ability
  • Basic numerical ability- orders of magnitude, number, and their relations, charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency
  • Basic English language, grammar, and vocabulary

Job Profile

The final merit list is however prepared based on the marks acquired in the mains along with the marks from the interview. The prelims marks are not considered though it is an important determinant on whether you qualify for Mains at all.

UPSC IFoS- Personality test/interview

The candidate will have a face-to-face interview with the board of experts. The candidate will be expected to have a thorough understanding of their academic subject as well as curiosity and awareness about what is happening around them as well as outside their state.

Results

UPSC releases the results of both Prelims and Mains on their official website. The results are released in the form of a PDF and can be downloaded and printed out for future purposes.

This your, the result for UPSC IFoS 2023 Prelims exam is expected to be declared in the month of October 2023.

Cutoff

Here are the cutoff marks of the UPSC IFoS 2019:

Category Marks out of 1700
General 904
OBC 858
SC 798
ST 815
PwBD-2 787
PwBD-3 693

Salary

The UPSC IFoS salary varies depending on the designation and place of posting. But what makes the job role most lucrative is the option to travel all over the country to some of the most spectacular locations. Here are the salary details.

Job Profile Annual pay package
Assistant Inspector General of Forest Rs. 10,00,000
Deputy Inspector General of Forest (Deputy Conservator of Forest) Rs. 12,00,000
Inspector General of Forest (Chief Conservator of Forest) Rs. 13,00,000
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Rs. 14,00,000
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Rs. 15,00,000

Apart from in-hand salary, Travel allowances are very high, and Personal and well-furnished bungalows and quarters in some of the best locations in the country, wherever you are posted.

The IFoS officers can get promoted based on their years of service as well as experience and skills developed in their tenure. There are posts like the forest range officer which is an entry-level post in this department.

FAQ's

Q. Can I bring the digital copy of the admit card to the exam center?

A. No, you cannot bring your admit card or Photo ID proof in digital form to the exam center as no electronic device will be allowed inside.

Q. If you undergo Lasik treatment, are you eligible for the IFoS exam?

A. For IFoS, Lasik treatment is not a problem and you will still be eligible for the post.

Q. Will I be eligible for the IFoS exam if I hold a diploma degree in any of the prescribed subjects?

A. No, 3-year graduation or its equivalent is elementary for IFoS, and diploma is not considered equivalent to graduation and hence will not be eligible.

Q. Are IFS officers transferred frequently?

A. Yes, IFoS officers will witness frequent transfers throughout their lifetime usually in remote and forest areas. However, often they are also posted in urban or semi-urban locations depending on the requirements.

Q. What are the salary and benefits enjoyed by IFoS officers?

A. The salary package is lucrative for IFoS officers and depends primarily on the position that you hold. It can be anywhere between 7 LPA to 15 LPA.

Q. If I fill up the form but cannot attend the prelims exam, will it be considered as a chance lost?

A. No, in case you do not appear for the exam at all even after filling up the form, it will not be counted as an attempt.

Q. Can I withdraw my application for the exam?

A. No, there is no option for the withdrawal of the application form once it is submitted and paid for.

Q. Can you choose the location of posting for the IFoS exam?

A. For the prelims, the admit card for IFoS and IAS will be available from the same link but for mains, it will be different.

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