Table of Contents
The Union Public Service Commission of India conducts the examination for the Indian Forest Service once a year. IFS happen to be one among the three main and prestigious examination that is conducted by UPSC in the national level. As the whole order of things got changed due to the ongoing pandemic, even UPSC had to bring changes in the initial dates which were fixed by the commission. The IFS services are placed under various State governments and joint cadres yet they have to serve both under the State and Central Governments. UPSC Indian Forest Service Recruitment 2020 is soon to be the target of all government job aspirants.
The main responsibility of IFS service is to implement the National Forest Policy which aims to ensure environmental steadiness and maintenance of ecological balance. An IFS officer is largely independent of district administration and has the right to exercise administrative, judicial, and financial powers in their domain. All the top ranks in the state forest department are held by IFS officers.
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UPSC IFS Exam Date
The IFS examination is a three-step process which includes a preliminary examination, the candidates who get through the prelims have to attend the main examination followed by an interview. UPSC had already conducted the preliminary examination on October 4, 2020 the results are due to be published in November. Recently the commission has published the dates for the main examination for the Indian Forest Service (IFS). As per the notification, the main examination is supposed to start from February 28th, 2021, and continue for 10 days.
IFS Examination 2020 | Dates to be remembered
|
Filling of the detailed application form- 1 (DAF-1) |
16th November 2020 – 27th November 2020 till 06.00 PM |
IFS Main Examination |
February 28th 2021- 7th March 2021
Morning Session: 9.00 AM to 12.00 PM
Evening Session: 2.00 PM to 5.00 PM
|
IFS Main Result
|
March 2021
|
Filling Detailed Application Form
|
March 2021
|
IFS Main Interview
|
April 2021
|
Final Result
|
April or May 2021 |
IFS Vacancies 2020
The UPSC announced the vacancies available for IFS this year, the vacancies are approximately 90 in number which is liable to alterations. However, reservation is provided for the SC, ST, OBC, Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), and PWD categories. The details regarding the above information is given below:
Total Number of Vacancies |
90
|
Reserved Vacancies
|
3 |
Category of Low Vision: 1
|
|
Locomotor disability (sub‐category: Leprosy cured and Acid attack): 1
|
|
Category of Partially Deaf: 1
|
Number of attempts
The total number of attempts for candidates from various categories are different, the table below gives information regarding the total number of attempts a candidate can opt for:
Category
|
Total Number of attempts |
General Candidates
|
6 attempts |
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Candidates
|
No restrictions |
Other Backward Class
|
9 attempts |
Physically Handicapped
|
9 attempts for general candidates and no such restriction for SC/ ST candidates |
IFS Mains Exam Pattern
A candidate is required to score at least 33% marks in the preliminary examination to pass and qualify for the main examination.
IFS Main Examination 2020 | Details
|
Total Number of papers
|
7 |
Main Language for examination
|
English |
Type of question paper
|
Descriptive/ subjective |
Maximum Mark for the main examination
|
1750 |
Maximum mark for the interview round
|
275 |
UPSC Syllabus for Mains Exam
Paper | Subjects | Marks |
I | General English
|
300
|
II | General Knowledge
|
300 |
III
IV V VI |
Any two subjects to be selected from a list of optional subjects.
Each subject will have two papers. |
200 marks for each paper |
Total |
1400 |
The list of optional subjects from which two subjects must be chosen for the papers III, IV, V, VI are as follows:
- Agriculture
- Agriculture Engineering
- Forestry
- Geology
- Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
- Mathematics
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Chemical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Statistics
- Zoology
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Combination of optional subjects
- Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering
- Along with Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
- Agriculture and Forestry.
- Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- Mathematics and Statistics
- A candidate can’t take more than one subject from the following engineering subjects like Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Agricultural Engineering. There will be no practical examination for any subject.
- In the General English paper, the candidate will be assigned to write an essay and the rest of the questions will be set in a manner to test the knowledge of the candidate in regards to the usage of correct words and grammar.
- The General Knowledge paper comprises of questions that would test the knowledge of the candidate with regards to the current affairs, his/ her observations about the things happening every day around him/her. The question paper will also comprise of questions related to Indian politics, political parties, constitution, Indian history, and geography which one can answer without any special study.
- In the remaining optional subjects, there will be 8 questions in each subject and the question paper will be divided into two parts: Part A and Part B. Each part will comprise of 4 questions each. A candidate is supposed to attend 5 questions from a total of 8 questions. Each part will have a compulsory question and the candidate has to attend two questions (including the compulsory question) from both the parts.
General Instructions
- All the question papers will be essay type.
- The answers to the questions must be written only in English and the question paper will also be only in English.
- The duration for each paper will be three hours.
- The Commission has the right to fix the qualifying mark in any or all papers.
- There will be a deduction of marks if the handwriting of the candidate is not readable.
- Credits will be given for orderly, effective, and exact expression of words in all subjects.
- SI units will be used in the question paper wherever it’s required.
- Candidates are supposed to use only the international form of Indian Numerals e.g. (1, 2, 3,4,5 etc.)
- Candidates are allowed to use scientific calculators while they are not allowed to use programming calculators, usage of such calculators would be considered malpractice. Exchanging or loaning of calculators are also not allowed and the students are not supposed to use the calculators for objective type papers.
- The commission will impose a deduction of marks if a candidate tries to reveal his/ her identity by writing things on the answer paper.
The students who score marks more than the cut-off mark in the main examination pass to the next and final stage which is the personal interview.
- The Interview will be out of 300 marks.
- The candidate’s knowledge about current affairs, communication skills, leadership quality, observational power, balance of judgment and alertness of mind, initiative, tact will be assessed by the board
- The interview will be followed by a physical test in which a male candidate has to walk/ run 25 km within 4 hours while a female candidate has to walk/run 14 km in less than 4 hours.