INDIAN FOREST SERVICE exam

Indian forest service is one of the three all India services. The other two All India Services are Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service(IPS)

Every year UPSC conducts exam for this . Indian forest service was constituted in 1966.
Imperial Forest Service constituted by British in 1867 was functioning before Indian forest service came into existence. There was discontinuity though. ‘Forestry’ was made a Provincial subject by the Government of India Act, 1935, and recruitment to the Imperial Forest Service was discontinued.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, (MoEFCC) under the Government of India, is the cadre controlling authority of Indian Forest Service.

Exam Pattern

Exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission every year in 4 stages viz. Preliminary, Main, Personality test and finally a medical test followed by 25 km walking test.

Stage 1
Preliminary exam :- It is common for civil services and forest service. The only difference is comparatively higher cut-off of forest service exam given the small number of vacancies every year. this is multiple choice question paper.

paper 1:  200 marks

• Current events of national and international importance
• History of India and Indian national movement
• Indian and World Geography- Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the world
• Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political system, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights issues, etc.
• Economic and Social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
• General issues on environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate change-that donot require subject specialization
• General science

paper 2 : 200 marks

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision making and problem solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.) (Class X level), Data Interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level)
• English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level)
• Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level. (will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation

Preliminary exam is not so easy to crack due increasing competition every year. once u r through this hurdle then comes the main exam which is relatively easier to crack

Stage 2 
Main Exam  Main exam has 6 papers in total 

1. English 300 marks
2. General studies 300 marks
3. Optional 1  paper i 200 marks
4. Optional 1  paper ii 200 marks
5. Optional 2  paper i 200 marks
6. Optional 2  paper ii 200 marks
    Thus main exam is of 1400 marks

There is restriction on combination of optional that u can choose. these restrictions are clearly written by upsc in its advertise . u can visit upsc.gov.in

Stage 3 
Personality test :- 300 marks

This is the most enjoyable stage of preparation. u get to know more about yourself. kind of enlightenment if u take it that way. u dig info about ur village, city, hometown, district, state, India, Ur liking and what not. I personally enjoyed this stage a lot ( two times☺). u need to have basic knowledge of forest and environment . Not to forget the brushing up the knowledge of ur graduation or further qualification if any. 

Result is declared and ranks are allotted based on combine score of a aspirant's main exam and personality test marks out of total 1400+300 i.e. out of 1700 marks

Stage 4
Walking Test

It's not over yet. Miles to go before u sleep. 15.5343 miles to be specific. Once u shine brighter in the result mentioned above, all that remains is a walk though not a cake walk. U have to undergo medical test in one of the hospitals in Delhi as mentioned by upsc. The day after that test candidates have to undergo a walking test of 25 km . Walking test generally happens in national zoo in Delhi. 10 laps of 2.5 km each. This test has no mark as such but u have to pass this.  Almost all of the candidates make through . if not, then u r given one more opportunity some time later, generally after a month or two. 

And if u go through this grind successfully, a love letter from Government of India comes for u welcoming you to join the service. And u get opportunity to do foundation course at LBSNAA, Mussourie along with other two all India services officers and with group A central services. That's enough information i guess. Just in case u r more curious drop a comment below. All the best folks.