Can B.Sc Students Apply for IFoS? What is the Eligibility Criteria?

The civil service examinations of India are one of the most competitive exams. The three most important civil service exams are conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission): IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IPS (Indian Police Service) and IFoS (Indian Forest Service).

Students from the science stream are eligible to apply for the IFoS exams. But there is an IFoS criteria that every student needs to meet before applying. So let’s discuss the eligibility of B.Sc students for the IFoS.

Indian Forest Services

Indian Forest Service exams are held to appoint the forest officers at the All India Service level for the scientific management of forests. The forest officers are given the duties of protecting and preserving the natural resources, with the primary duty of implementing the National Forest Policy.

The exams are conducted similar to that of IAS civil service examinations, with three stages, prelims, mains and interview. The students are selected only after they qualify for the forest service requirements. Once they pass all three stages, then the aspirants are sent to Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun, Uttarakhand for two years of training.

Eligibility Criteria

Civil service has established the minimum eligibility criteria to appear for the IFoS exams. To understand more about the eligibility of B.Sc students for the Indian Forest Service. First, it is required to understand what are the basic forest service requirement criteria.

Education Qualification

Every applicant must hold a bachelor’s degree in one of the qualifications listed below:

#. Bachelor’s Degree with specialization in Agriculture

#. Bachelor’s Degree with specialization in Engineering

#. Bachelor’s Degree with specialization in Forestry

#. Bachelor’s degree with Chemistry as one of the subjects

#. Bachelor’s degree with Physics as one of the subjects

#. Bachelor’s degree with Statistics as one of the subjects

#. Bachelor’s degree with Mathematics as one of the subjects

#. Bachelor’s degree with Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science as one of the subjects

#. Bachelor’s degree with Botany as one of the subjects

#. Bachelor’s degree with Zoology as one of the subjects

#. Bachelor’s degree with Geology as one of the subjects

The eligibility criteria allow the B.Sc students to apply for the IFoS exams even when they are in the last year of their graduate program.

Nationality

The applicant has to be:

#a. A Citizen of India, or

#b. The Subject of Nepal, or

#c. The Subject of Bhutan, or

#d. A refugee from Tibet who came to India before the date 1 January 1962 with the intent to permanently settle in India, or

#e. An Indian origin individual who has migrated to India from any of the following countries: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Vietnam, East African countries like the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zaire, Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda to settle in India permanently.

The applicants who belong to the b, c, d, and e categories mandatorily have to produce the certificate of eligibility to appear for exams. The certificate is issued by the Government of India.

Number of Attempts

Following are the maximum number of attempts allowed for every candidate:

#. General candidates – 6 attempts

#. Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates – 9 attempts

#. Scheduled Caste and Tribe (SC/ST) candidates – No limitation on the number of attempts

#. Physically Handicapped candidates from General and OBC – 9 attempts
SC/ST candidates – No limitations on the number of attempts

Age Limit

The UPSC has set a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 32 years as the age limit to appear for the Indian Forest Service Examination. There is some relaxation in the upper age limit for reserved caste candidates as per the UPSC guidelines.

Physical Criteria

A physical test will be conducted to check if an aspirant has met the standard physical requirements for the Indian Forest Service examination. You can visit the website and read the rules and regulations for standard physical IFoS criteria.

Can B.Sc Students Apply for IFoS?

After looking at the basic forest service requirements we can say that, yes, B.Sc students are eligible to apply for IFoS. The basic IFoS criteria require you to have a graduation degree in the above-mentioned fields of science. The general B.Sc (Bachelor of Science) degree has Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics as its subjects. And the guidelines require any of these three subjects to be studied in their B.Sc degree, if an applicant wants to apply for the IFoS examination.

Instead of studying general B.Sc, many students opt for B.Sc with honours. Various honours are available for the B.Sc, which a student can select and complete their graduation in. Students completing their graduation in selected B.Sc can also apply for the Indian Forest Services examinations.

Conclusion

The B.Sc students can easily apply for the IFoS examinations and are eligible for 6 attempts in the general category. So the B.Sc students should start their preparations as soon as possible to be able to clear the civil service exams in the early attempts. You can apply for IFoS even when you are in the last year of graduation.

Start your preparations early with UPSC Pathshala which provides the best study material and online coaching for the preparations of all civil service examinations. You can sit for a free demo class and experience the best teaching for IFoS preparations.