Are you wondering how to protect our nature? Do you wonder and are fascinated by the forests and the beauty it upholds? Then you can consider a career in the Indian Forest Services or in short called IFS.
It is a government job that comes with its benefits and job security. It combines your desire of protecting the forests and also guarantees lucrative pay.
What are Indian Forest Services or IFS?
India is home to indigenous flora and fauna in its forests. For protecting and preservation of the heritage and beauty of these unique and wonderful species, there is a government authority that looks into its maintenance and work. This authoritative body is called the Indian Forest Services which was mainly designed for implementation of the National Forest Policy.
The main aim of this policy is environmental conservation and maintaining the ecological stability of India through sustainable management and natural resources protection.
The IFS exam is one of the civil services examinations conducted by UPSC for recruitment of forest officers at All India Level by the Indian government for scientific management of forests.
Responsibilities of IFS Officers
The following are some of the responsibilities of IFS Salaries.
- Conservation of plants and animals of an allotted region.
- Management of environmental concerns in the forests.
- Implementation of National Forest policy.
- Managing the forest resources and are responsible for their preservation and utilization.
- Documentation of forest resources like timber, cattle grazing ground, shelter for wild animals along with food and water arrangement.
- Protecting the forests, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves from poachers and eco-terrorists. 21% of the Indian Forest land is controlled by IFS officers.
- They also take care of jurisdiction within forests and also for wildlife based on the Forests Act.
- Implementation of policies that ensure environmental stability and ecological balance.
- Enhancement of livelihood opportunities of communities depending on forests.
- Working in laboratories and industries whose job is processing wood and manufacturing products from it.
- Planning of wildlife reserves and roads leading to new places, recreation spots and lakes in wildlife reserves.
- Supervising the crews assigned to the above projects and monitoring their progress.
- Using various instruments and remote sensing devices for outlining the map of forested areas.
- Inspecting the forestry products and livestock for detecting any damaging diseases, infestations or growth rates.
- Evaluation of habitat for assessing the efficacy of medicines and other programs.
Education and Eligibility
The following is the education and eligibility criteria to become an IFS officer in India.
- Completion of 10+2 in the desired stream with a minimum of 50% aggregate from a recognized board of India.
- Pursue graduation or bachelors in the relevant field based on 10+2.
- Interested candidates can pursue their higher studies in the specialization of bachelors.
- To become an IFS officer, aspirants should appear for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) IFS exam conducted by the Government of India which is of three stages.
- Preliminary Written Exam (Civil Services).
- Mains Exam.
- Interview or Personality test.
- Candidates have to qualify for all these stages or rounds to become an IFS officers. After getting selected, these officers are trained for two years at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy.
Required Skills
The following are the key skills an IFS officer needs:
- Analytical Skills.
- Leadership Skills.
- Physically and mentally fit.
- Decision making and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication skills
- Technical skills for writing reports using Microsoft office.
Job Roles for IFS officers
An officer working in Indian Forest Service can be assigned any one role in the department. After qualification of IFS exam, the candidate can receive any role like:
- Principal Chief Conservator of Forest.
- Additional Chief Conservator of Forest.
- Inspector General of Forest.
- Deputy Conservator of Forest.
- Assistant Conservator of Forest.
- Forest Range Officer (FRO).
Salary and Career Outlook
Employment in the government sector is permanent and comes with great salary and benefits and high job security. The entry-level annual salary of an IFS officer is more than INR 5 LPA.
The following is a list of the average salaries of IFS officers in different roles.
- Principal Chief Forest Conservator- INR 15 LPA.
- Additional Principal Chief Forest Conservator- INR 14 LPA.
- Chief Conservator of Forest- INR 13 LPA.
- Deputy Conservator of Forest- INR 12 LPA.
- Assistant Inspector General of Forest- INR 10 LPA.
The demand for IFS officers is always high since this is a government job with its own perks and benefits. This is a prestigious and reputed career of the Indian Civil Services and is always looked up to in the Indian Society.
– Samiya Firdous
