IFoS or Indian Forest Service comes under all India service commenced by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). It is a prestigious job providing protection and preserving forest’s flora and fauna. Candidate who clears this examination will work under the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change which is part of Central Government. In this article, we will discuss on IFOS Exam 2024 Dates, Eligibility, Exam Pattern, and Syllabus, etc.

UPSC IFoS Exam 2024 Highlights

Particulars	Details
Name of Exam	IFOS Exam
Acronym for	Indian Forest Service Exam
Organizing commission	Union Public Service Commission
Examination Level	National
Examination Conducting Mode	Offline
Available Vacancies	90
Number of Attempts	6
Indian Forest Service Official Website	IFoS.nic.in

IFoS Exam Important Dates

Events	Important Dates
Release of Notification of UPSC IFoS	23 December 2022
Release of UPSC IFoS Application Form	2 February 2024
Last date of UPSC IFoS Examination	22 February 2024
Release of UPSC IFoS Admit Card	To be Announced
UPSC IFoS Prelims Exam Date	5 June 2024
Release of UPSC IFoS Prelims Result	To be Announced
UPSC IFoS Mains Exam Date	20 November 2024
Release of UPSC IFoS Mains Result	To be Announced
Release of UPSC IFoS Final Merit List	To be Announced

IFoS Exam Eligibility Criteria

The following are the eligibility criteria of IFoS Exam-

• Candidate must be a citizen of India
• The age criteria of candidate must be between 21 years and 32 years of age
• Candidate must be a graduate from a recognized university in any discipline
• The following are the number of attempt allowed for reserved category students-

Reserved Category	Attempts
General	6
SC/ST	no limit
OBC	9

IFoS Exam Application Form

The Application form of IFoS UPSC can be filled online. The following are the steps by step application process-

• Visit the official website of the UPSE- https://upsc.gov.in/
• Click on the ‘New Candidate Registration’ and start filling in the required details like email ID password etc.
• Now, verify the email by clicking on the verification link send by UPSE
• Now, Log in to your account and click on the apply button
• A form will appear, fill the form with correct information
• Now upload your scanned passport size photograph
• Now you have to upload the scanned copy of all the certificates and documents mentioned below
• Now a payment gateway will open where you have to pay the application fee using Credit/Debit, UPI, Net Banking, or challan
• Take a print out of the payment confirmation slip and the application for future uses

Documentation Requirement for registration

The following are the list of documents required for IFOS Exam recruitment-

• Scanned Passport Size photograph under 1 MB
• Scanned copy of class  10^th, & 12^th passed certificate/ Mark Sheet
• Graduate Degree/ Marks Sheet
• Aadhar Card

IFOS Exam 2024 Application Fee

The application fee for the IFOS Exam entrance examination is as follows-

Category	Application Fee
Application fee for the IFOS Exam entrance examination	Rs.100/-
Women candidates and candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Ex-servicemen (ESM)	No Fee required

IFOS Exam Examination Pattern

The examination pattern of IFOS or civil services is divided into three examinations. The following are the entrance examination of IFOS exam-

IFOS Exam Prelims

• The prelims question will be of objective type and the negative marking for incorrect answers will be 1/3rd (0.66) of the allotted marks of that question.
• The GS Paper II (CSAT) in IFOS exam is of qualifying nature and candidates should score a minimum of 33 per cent
• Prelims is a screening test and prelims marks will not be included in final score

Sl. No.	Name of the Paper	Nature of the Paper	Duration of the Exam	Questions	Marks
1	IFOS Exam Paper – I: General Studies	Merit Ranking Nature	2 Hours	100	200 Marks
2	IFOS Exam Paper – II: General Studies (CSAT)	Qualifying Nature	2 Hours	80	200 Marks

IFOS Exam Mains

Paper	Subject	Total marks
Paper I	General English	300
Paper II	General Knowledge	300
Paper III	Optional I	200
Paper IV	Optional I	200
Paper V	Optional II	200
Paper VI	Optional II	200

Note-The following combination of optional subjects will not be allowed-

1.  Agriculture and Agricultural Engg.
2.  Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science.
3.  Agriculture and Forestry.
4.  Chemistry and Chemical Engg.
5.  Mathematics and Statistics.
6.  Engineering subjects viz. Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering—not more than one subject;

IFOS Exam Personality Test/ Interview

The candidates who clear main stage of the examination will be selected for personality test or interview round. Candidate will be sent an e-summon by the Commission for a face-to-face discussion round with the board members. The question will be based on hobbies, current affairs, general knowledge, situation questions, etc. and test will be held only in the UPSC Bhavan in New Delhi.

IFOS DAF Filling

DAF Stands for Detailed Application Form and the following are the steps to fill DAF-

• Candidates who have been declared qualified in the written part of the Examinations have to first get themselves registered before filling up the Online Detailed Application Form (DAF)
• Candidates are required to upload scanned copies of documents like proof of Age, Educational Qualification, Community Certificate, PH Certificate etc. as mentioned in the Instructions to Candidates for filling in the Detailed Application Form

IFOS Exam Syllabus

The following are the examination syllabus for IFOS Exam-

General Studies

1. History
2. Modern Indian History
3. World History
4. Art & Culture
5. Indian Heritage & Culture
6. Geography
7. Climatology
8. Oceanology
9. Indian Society
10. Polity    
11. Constitution      
12. Governance      
13. Social Justice     
14. International Relations
15. Economic Development
16. Agriculture
17. Science & Technology
18. Environment & Ecology
19. Security, and
20. Disaster Management

CSAT Syllabus

1. Comprehension
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
4. Decision-making and problem-solving
5. General mental ability
6. Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc
7. Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc.)

Optional Subject

The following are the 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

IFoS Exam Preparation Books

The following are the Exam preparation books –

Prelims Examiantion

Subject	UPSC Books
History, Indian Heritage & Culture [GS Paper 1]	Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra India after Independence by Bipan Chandra History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra Ancient India by R.S Sharma
Geography [GS Paper 1]	Geography of India by Majid Husain World Geography by Majid Husain World Atlas (Orient Black Swan) Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT Class 11
Polity & International Relations [GS Paper 2]	Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu International Relations: Pushpesh Pant
Economy [GS Paper 3]	Indian Economy – Nitin Singhania Environment and Disaster Management – Tata McGraw Hill Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar
Ethics [GS Paper 4]	Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary
Newspaper	The Hindu, Hidustantimes, Navbharat times etc.

IFoS Mains Examiantion

1. UPSC-IFoS Main Examination Guide: A Complete Book for Paper I and Paper II
2. UPSC: IFoS (Paper I & II) Main Exam Guide
3. UPSC-IFoS Exam – Botany
4. UPSC – IFoS Exam: Mathematics
5. UPSC – IFoS Exam: Zoology
6. UPSC-IFoS Exam Botany (Including Paper I & II) Main Exam Guide 2018 Edition (English, Paperback, RPH Editorial Board)
7. UPSC-IFoS Exam Physics (Including Paper I & II) Main Exam Guide 2018 Edition (English, Paperback, RPH Editorial Board)
8. UPSC: Civil Services Exam & Indian Forest Service Exam (Common Prel. Exam: Paper-I) 2017 Edition (English, Paperback, RPH Editorial Board)
9. UPSC: Civil Services Exam & Indian Forest Service Exam (Common Prel. Exam: Paper-I)
10. UPSC-IFoS Exam Physics (Including Paper I & II) Main Exam Guide
11. UPSC: Civil Services Exam & Indian Forest Service Exam: Previous Years Papers (Solved) 2017 Edition (English, Paperback, RPH Editorial Board)
12. UPSC Civil Services Exam & Indian Forest Service Exam (Comm. Prel. Exam) Paper-II
13. UPSC-IFoS Exam Chemistry (Including Paper I & II) Main Exam Guide
14. UPSC-IFoS Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science Main Exam Guide
15. UPSC-IFoS Exam Agriculture (Including Paper I & II) Main Exam Guide

IFOS Exam Admit Card

The admit card of the IFoS Exam can be downloaded online using the official website of UPSC. The candidate must follow the guidelines mentioned on the admit card otherwise the examination of the candidate can be canceled.

IFOS Result

The result of IFoS will be declared online in the form of a merit list. UPSC releases a minimum cut-off mark and the candidates who scored more than the cut-off marks will be eligible for forest services and will be sent for training.  

FAQ

Who holds the higher post an IAS or IFoS?

IAS is responsible for the administrative and social tasks whereas, IFoS is responsible to take care of the protection and maintenance of the wold life and forest. IAS holds more power than IFoS however, both the posts are coming in the same range.

What is IFoS?

IFoS stands for Indian Forest Services who are the officers appointed by the Government to protect and take care of wildlife and forest vegetation.

If I have given an attempt at Civil Services, is that counted in Indian Forest Service (IFoS) Attempt too?

No, the counting of the attempt of Civil services and IFoS are separate. Even if you have exhausted your no of attempts for civil services examination, you can still participate in the IFoS examination.