Indian Forest Service

Indian Forest Service (IFS) [2] is one of the three All India Services
Indian Forest Service
of the Government of India. The other two All India Services being the
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service
(IPS).[3][4][5] It was constituted in the year 1966 under the All India
Services Act, 1951 by the Government of India..

Prior to that, the British had constituted Imperial Forest Service in

1867 which functioned under the Federal Government until ‘Forestry’
was transferred to the Provincial List by the Government of India Act,
1935, and subsequent 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
Service Overview
Indian Forest Service.
Preceding Imperial Forest Service
service (1864 to 1935)
Year of 1966
Contents Constitution

History
Country India
Modern agency Staff College Indira Gandhi National Forest
Nature of the Service Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun
Salary structure Cadre Ministry of Environment,
Deputations Controlling Forests and Climate Change
Central Deputation Authority
State Deputation
Legal Governmental: Government
Deputation under International Organisation
personality service
Training
General Administration of Forest and
Martyrs
nature Wildlife resources
Other notable members
Imperial Forest Service Officer Cadre 3131 (2182 Direct Recruits and
Indian Forest Service Officers strength 949 Promotion Posts)
See also Website ifs.nic.in
References Service Chief
Director Siddhanth Das, IFS (1982
General of Batch, Odisha Cadre)[1]
History Forests
In 1864, the British Raj established the Imperial Forest Department; Dr Head of the All India Civil Services
Dietrich Brandis, a German forest officer, was appointed Inspector Cabinet Pradeep Kumar Sinha, IAS
General of Forests.[6] The Imperial Forestry Service was organised Secretary
subordinate to the Imperial Forest Department in 1867 when five
candidates were selected to undergo training in France & Germany. This continued up to 1885 except for a short break on account of
war between France and Russia.[7][8]
Officers appointed from 1867 to 1885 were trained in Germany and France, and from
1885 to 1905 at Cooper's Hill, London, also known asRoyal Indian Engineering College
where 173 officers were trained. From 1905 to 1926, the University of Oxford (Sir
William Schlich), University of Cambridge, and University of Edinburgh had
undertaken the task of training Imperial Forestry Service officers. In 1920, the
Government of India took the decision that the IFS Probationers may be trained at one
centre and consequent to the establishment of Forest Research Institute at Dehradun, the
training started in India in 1926.

The Government of India Act 1935, which transferred forestry to Provisional list,
resulted in abolition of the IFS training. Indian Forest College was established in 1938.
The Superior Forest Service officers, recruited from different states, were trained in the
Indian Forest College. The stated mandate of the service was scientific management of
the forests to exploit it on a sustained basis for primarily timber products. It was during
this time that large tracts of the forest were brought under state control through the Dietrich Brandis, who is widely
process of reservation under theIndian Forest Act, 1927. considered as the father of IFS.

The management of the forest went into the hands of the provincial government in 1935
and even today the Forest Departments are managing the forest of the country under the respective State governments. Since the
subject of forestry was shifted to the concurrent list in the year 1977, the central government plays an important role, particularly at
the policy level in the management of the forest.

The main thrust of managing forests for production of timber products as in the British period continued even after the reconstitution
of IFS in 1966. The recommendations of National Commission on Agriculture in 1976 was a landmark shift in forest management. It
was for the first time that people's perception was taken care of in addressing biomass needs and extension activities through social
forestry were introduced. The concept of sustained yield was addressed in tandem with biomass needs of the people living in and
around forest areas. Equal thrust was given to habitat management in protected area and conserving the biodiversity of the land.
Today there are over 2700 IFS officers serving in the country, serving in both the 31 Forest Departments in the States and Union
Territories and working in various Ministries and institutions both in the State and Central Government.

Modern agency
There is no The modern Indian Forest Service was established in 1966, after independence,

“ alternative to this
administrative
system... The Union
” under the All India Services Act 1951. The first Inspector General of Forests, Hari
Singh, was instrumental in the development of the IFS.

will go, you will not India has an area of 635,400 km2 designated as forests, about 19.32% of the country.
have a united India if India's forest policy was created in 1894 and revised in 1952 and again in 1988.
you do not have
good All-India
Service which has Nature of the Service
the independence to
speak out its mind, Officers are recruited via an open competitive examination conducted by the
which has sense of UPSC[12] and then trained for about two years by the Central Government at Indira
security that you will Gandhi National Forest Academy. Their services are placed under various State
standby your work... cadres and joint cadres, even though they have the mandate to serve both under the
If you do not adopt State and Central Governments.[13] The main mandate of the service is the
this course, then do
.[14]
implementation of the National Forest Policy
not follow the
present Constitution.
An IFS officer is largely independent of district administration and exercises
Substitute
something else... administrative, judicial and financial powers in their own domain. Positions in state
these people are the forest department such as Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Conservator of Forests
instrument. Remove
 them and I see (CF) and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) etc. are held only by IFS
nothing, but a officers. The highest ranking IFS official in each state is the Head of Forest Forces
picture of chaos all (HoFF).
round the country.
— Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in They are also eligible for State and Central deputations as their counterpart IAS and
Constituent Assembly discussing the IPS officers. Deputation of IFS officers to the Central Government includes
role of All India Services.[9][10][11]
appointments in Central Ministries at the position of Deputy Secretary, Director,
Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary etc.; appointments in various Public Sector Units, Institutes and Academies at the position of
Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO), Regional passport officers, Managing Directors, Inspector General, Director General etc.

Deputation of IFS officers is also permissible to foreign governments, United Nations bodies, international organisations, NGOs,
[15]
voluntary organisations apart from private sectoras per the Indian Forest Service (Cadre) Rules, 1966.

Salary structure
Pay structure of Indian Forest Service[16][17]

Position/Designation in State Position/Designation Base Salary

Grade (Level in Pay Matrix)[16][17]
Government in Government of India (monthly)[16][17]
Principal Chief Conservator of Director General of
Apex Scale (Pay level 17) ₹2,25,000
Forests (Head of Forest Force) Forests
Principal Chief Conservator of Additional Director
HAG+ Scale (Pay level 16) ₹2,05,400
Forests General of Forests
Additional Principal Chief
HAG scale (Pay level 15) - ₹2,00,000
Conservator of Forests
(Above Super Time Scale) Senior
Inspector General of
Administrative Grade (Pay Level Chief Conservator of Forests ₹1,75,000
Forests
14)
Super Time Scale
Deputy Inspector
(DIG/Conservator Grade) (Pay level Conservator of Forests ₹1,50,000
General of Forests
13A)
Deputy Conservator of Forests Assistant Inspector
Selection Grade (Pay level 13) ₹1,18,500
(Selection Grade) General of Forests
Junior Administrative Grade (Pay Assistant Inspector
Deputy Conservator of Forests ₹78,800
level 12) General of Forests
Assistant Inspector
Senior Time Scale (Pay level 11) Deputy Conservator of Forests ₹67,700
General of Forests
Probationary Officer/Assistant Assistant Inspector
Junior Time Scale (Pay level 10) ₹56,100
Conservator of Forests General of Forests

Deputations
[18]

As per Rule 6 of the Indian Forest Service (Cadre) Rules, 1966 deputation of IFS ficers
of broadly falls into two categories:[19]

1. Central Deputation
2. State Deputation
For Central Deputation, there are two schemes devised for the purpose of regulating appointments in Government of India and
organisations under its control.

Central Staffing Scheme

Non-Central Staffing Scheme
Central Deputation
There are two Central Staffing Schemes, one each controlled by Ministry of Environment and Forests (India) (MoEF) and
Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and they are respectively
called as CSS of MoEF and CSS of DoPT.

Manning the pre-identified professional positions in the Ministry, its regional offices, subordinate offices, organisations under its
control (located elsewhere in the country) and in other Ministries/Departments, exclusively by IFS, CSS of MoEF scheme has been
formulated. The posts included under it are Director General of Forests, Additional Director General of Forests, Inspector General of
Forests and Deputy Inspector General of Forests in Ministry of Environment and Forests, Associate Professors and Lecturers in
IGNFA, Director of Forest Survey of India, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Project Tiger, Project Elephant, National
Zoological Park, Forest Education and Deputy Directors/Conservators in Regional fices
of of the Ministry.

Similar to the CSS of the MoEF, for manning pre-identified positions of Under Secretary (US), Deputy Secretary (DS), Director,
Joint Secretary to Government of India (JS), Additional Secretary (AS), Special Secretary (SS) and equivalent levels in the
Government of India and its organizations, DoPT have formulated a staffing Scheme. A total of 38 Civil Services including the three
All India Services viz IAS, IPS, IFS are participants under this Scheme.

Similar to the CSS, there are two Non-CSSs under the Government of India one each controlled by the MoEF and DoPT. All posts to
be filled up by IFS officers in the autonomous bodies under the control of the Ministry viz ICFRE, Dehradun; Wild Life Institute of
India, Dehradun and Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal; Wild-Life Crime Control Bureau, Central Pollution Control
Board, Central Zoo Authority etc. are called as non-CSS posts. Isolated posts under various Departments and Ministries in
Government of India and the posts of Commissions, Autonomous Bodies, Authorities, Trusts, Boards, Societies, etc. constitute non-
CSS of DoPT.

State Deputation
An IFS officer may also be deputed for service under a company, association, corporation which is wholly or substantially owned or
controlled by a State Government, a Municipal Corporation or Local Body
. Appointment is done by the State Government.

Deputation under International Organisation

An IFS officer may also be deputed for service under international organisation by Central Government in consultation with State
Government.

Training
[20][21]

On acceptance to the IFS, new entrants undergo a probationary period (and are
referred to as Officer Trainees). Training begins at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National
Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, where members of many elite civil
services are trained for the period of 15 weeks.

On completion of which they go to the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy at

Dehradun, for a more intensive training in a host of subjects important to Forestry,
Wildlife Management, Biodiversity, Environment Protection, Climate Change,
Forest Policies and Laws, Remote Sensing and GIS, Forest Dwellers and Scheduled
Tribes. After completion of their training, the officers are awarded a master's degree Lal Bahadur Shastri National
Academy of Administration,
in Science (Forestry) of Forest Research Institute. The officers are taught more than
Mussoorie
56 subjects of life sciences in these two years.
They are also taught Weapon handling, Horse riding, Motor Vehicle Training, Swimming, Forest and Wildlife Crime Detection. They
also go on attachments with different government bodies and institutes such as Indian Military Academy, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
National Police Academy, Wildlife Institute of India, Bombay Natural History Society etc. They also undertake extensive tours both
in India and abroad.

After completing training at the academy,candidates go through a year of

on-the-job field training in the state to which he or she is assigned, during
which they are posted as Assistant Conservators of Forests or Deputy
Conservator of Forests. After four years of service in the junior scale,
which includes a professional training phase and foundation course,
officers are appointed to the Senior Time Scale and are entitled to be
posted as Deputy Conservators of Forests or Divisional Forest Officers Forest Research Institutein Dehradun
(DFO) in charge of districts/forest divisions.

Martyrs
P. Srinivas

Sanjay Singh

Other notable members

Imperial Forest Service Officer Indian Forest Service Officers

Hari Singh
Cyril Beeson
P. Srinivas
Dietrich Brandis
Sanjiv Chaturvedi
Frederick Walter Champion
Ramesh K. Pandey
Hugh Cleghorn
Hemendra Singh Panwar
Peter Clutterbuck
Fateh Singh Rathore
James Sykes Gamble
Edgar Peacock
Wilhelm Philipp Daniel Schlich
Bertram Smythies
E. A. Smythies
Robert Scott Troup

See also
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education
Ministry of Environment and Forests, India
All India Services
Van Vigyan Kendra (VVK) Forest Science Centres

References
1. "Appointment to the post of Director General of Forests & Special Secretary"
(http://ifs.nic.in/deputation/Lettr-Depu-D
GF&SS_30032017.pdf)(PDF). http://ifs.nic.in. Retrieved 2017-10-01. External link in |publisher= (help)
 2. "Official website of Indian Forest Service | National Portal of India" (http://india.gov.in/official-website-indian-forest-se
rvice). India.gov.in. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
3. "Public Service" (http://www.archive.india.gov.in/knowindia/profile.php?id=32). Official website of Government of
India.
4. "rti" (http://upsc.gov.in/ais/slno1-10.htm#PageTop). Upsc.gov.in. 1997-12-31. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
5. "Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy : Indian Forest Service"(https://web.archive.org/web/20160111233456/htt
p://www.ignfa.gov.in/IndianForestService/tabid/56/language/en-US/Default.aspx). Archived from the original (http://w
ww.ignfa.gov.in/IndianForestService/tabid/56/language/en-US/Default.aspx)on 11 January 2016. Retrieved
27 December 2015.
6. Dietrich Brandis
7. "Indian Forest Service"(http://ifs.nic.in/hist.aspx). ifs.nic.in. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
8. Academy, Indira Gandhi National Forest."Indian Forest Service"(https://web.archive.org/web/20160818230053/htt
p://www.ignfa.gov.in/IndianForestService/tabid/56/language/en-US/Default.aspx) . www.ignfa.gov.in. Archived from
the original (http://www.ignfa.gov.in/IndianForestService/tabid/56/language/en-US/Default.aspx)on 18 August 2016.
Retrieved 18 October 2016.
9. "Discussion in Constituent Assembly on role of Indian Administrative Service"
(http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debat
es/vol10p3a.htm). Government of India. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
10. "Save the integrity of the civil service"(http://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/020717/save-the-integrity-of-t
he-civil-service.html). Retrieved 2 July 2017.
11. "One Who Forged India's Steel Frame"(http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?
md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=15210). H.N. Bali. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
12. from www.ifs.nic.in Direct Recruits: 66.33 per cent of the cadre strength of the service is filled by Direct Recruitment
done through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) by conducting an all India level competitive examination
open to graduates with science background. After qualifying the written examination, the candidates have to appear
for a personality test, a walking test and a standard medical fitness test.
13. "IFS Diaries" (http://ifsdiaries.blogspot.in). Ifsdiaries.blogspot.in. 2015-03-01. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
14. "NFP 1988" (http://envfor.nic.in/sites/default/files/introduction-nfp.pdf) (PDF). Envfor.nic.in. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
15. "IFS Cadre MIS - Deputation"(http://ifs.nic.in/deputation/deputation.htm). Ifs.nic.in. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
16. "The Indian Forest Service (Pay) Rules, 2016"(http://document.ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02ser/
14021_5_2016-AIS-II-28092016.pdf)(PDF). Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India.
September 23, 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
17. "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India"(http://7cpc.india.gov.in/pdf/sevencpcreport.pdf) (PDF). Seventh
Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
18. "Deputation of IFS Officers" (http://ifs.nic.in/deputation.aspx). ifs.nic.in. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
19. "IFoS Cadre MIS - Central Staffing Scheme" (http://ifs.nic.in/deputation/css/css.htm). Ifs.nic.in. Retrieved
2015-12-27.
20. "Training of IFS Officers" (http://www.ignfa.gov.in/Training/ProbationersTraining/tabid/67/language/en-US/Default.asp
x). ignfa.gov.in.
21. "Tours" (http://www.ignfa.gov.in/Training/ProbationersTraining/TheTraining/tabid/335/language/en-US/Default.aspx)
.

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