Can Pharm D Students Apply for IFoS? Check this to Clear Your Doubts

IFoS, also known as Indian Forest Services, is the civil service examination held every year by the UPSC. The IFoS is one of the three civil service examinations, the other two being the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS).

The IFoS exam is a medium to appoint eligible recruiters as the officers for scientific forest management by the Indian Government.

Many aspirants dream of working as an IFoS officer, but there are eligibility criteria through which aspirants are selected to appear for the exams. So in this article, we are going to discuss further if pharmacy students pursuing Pharm D can apply for IFoS.

While applying, you should know that IFS and IFoS are two different civil services, IFS stands for Indian Foreign Service, and IFoS stands for Indian Forest Service.

What is IFoS?

The Indian Forest Service is in the control of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The exams are held every year to appoint the forest service officers with the primary task of implementing the National Forest Policy. The officers are also responsible for protecting and preserving the natural resources and the heritage of the nation.

About the IFoS Exam

The exams for IFoS are similar to the civil service examination for IAS, and it has three stages. The first is the preliminary exams, the second is the mains exams, and the third is the personality test interview. Aspirants have to crack all three stages to becoming IFoS officers. The recruiters are appointed on various first officer posts at the All India level, with the Head of Forest Forces being the highest one.

Eligibility Criteria

It is important to know what is the minimum eligibility criteria to appear for the IFoS examinations:

h4 Education Qualification

The aspirants are required to hold an education qualification in one of the Bachelor’s degrees enlisted below:

#. Bachelor’s Degree in Forestry

#. Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture

#. Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering

#. Bachelor’s degree in Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science is one of the subjects

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

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

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

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

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

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

#. Bachelor’s degree with Statics being one of the subjects

Students are eligible to apply for IFoS even when they are in the last year of their undergraduate program.

Nationality

The candidate must be:

#a. The Citizen of India

#b. Subject of Nepal

#c. Subject of Bhutan

#d. Refugees from Tibet who came to India before the date 1 January 1962 intending to permanently settle in India

#e. An individual with Indian origins who has migrated to India from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Vietnam, East African countries like the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zaire, Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda with the sole intention of settling in India permanently.

It is necessary for the aspirants who belong to the b, c, d, and e categories to produce the certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India to appear for the exams.

Number of Attempts

The maximum number of attempts allowed for every aspirant is as follows:

#. 6 Attempts for General candidates

#. 9 Attempts for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates

#. No limit on Attempts for Scheduled Caste and Tribe (SC/ST) candidates

#. 9 Attempts for Physically Handicapped candidates from General and OBC, and no limit on Attempts for candidates from SC/ST

Age Limit

For a candidate to appear for the IFoS exams, the minimum age required is 21 years, and the maximum age is 32 years.

Physical Criteria

There is going to be a physical test where your physical standards for admission to Indian Forest Service will be checked. You can check the IFoS criteria for physical standards on their official website.

Can Pharm D Students Apply for IFoS?

Based on the information and the education qualification for IFoS mentioned above, it is clear that pharmacy students can apply for the exams. The UPSC guidelines say that students with a graduate degree are eligible to appear for the exams.

The Pharm D or Doctor of Pharmacy is a post-graduate level degree program. An individual can apply for Pharm D as a graduate program of 6 years after completing 10 + 2 or can apply for Pharm D as a post-graduate program of 3 years after completing their graduation in B. Pharm.

What should Pharm D Students do?

You can go both ways and either apply for IFoS after your B. Pharm or after completing your Pharm D. As mentioned above, it is mandatory to have at least one of the subjects as Chemistry for qualification. And both the programs offer at least one subject as Chemistry. Therefore, a pharmacy student or a Pharm D student can apply for the Indian Forest Service examination.

Remember that the age limit is from 21 to 32 years, with a limit of 6 attempts. So apply as soon as possible, and prepare well so you can crack the examination within your early attempts.

Conclusion

These forest service requirements need to be met by the candidates if they wish to appear for the IFoS exams. Know all the standard requirements of the forest service by visiting their website. Preparation for the exams is going to be difficult, so you can join UPSC Pathshala, where you will get enriched source material and the best teaching. You can attend the free demo session to embark on our journey for the competitive exams ahead.

Summary

Article Name

Can Pharm D Students Apply for IFoS? Check this to Clear Your Doubts

Description

Many Pharm D students aspire to become IFoS officers, and it is important to know the IFoS criteria and eligibility to clear the exams. Read to know more.

Author

Shilpa Dutta

Publisher Name

UPSC Pathshala

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