The UPSC IFS Syllabus has been published in an official notification by the Union Public Service Commission. Candidates are strongly recommended to adhere to the approved UPSC IFS Syllabus 2024 and prepare according to the most recent UPSC IFS Exam Pattern 2024. The UPSC IFoS examination is planned for June 16, 2024. It is high time for eager students to familiarize themselves with the IFS test pattern and syllabus 2024 as prescribed by test authorities. UPSC IFS Prelims has two papers, while UPSC IFS Mains has six. The post includes a full UPSC IFS syllabus for 2024 and an exam pattern for applicants.
UPSC IFS Syllabus 2024
The UPSC IFS Syllabus PDF 2024 can be downloaded from the official website. The Indian Forest Service Syllabus 2024 can be separated into three major parts of the selection process. These phases are UPSC IFS preliminary, UPSC IFS main, and UPSC IFS interview. The Indian Forest Service Syllabus 2024 is the key to achieving effective outcomes. The syllabus for prelims is similar to the UPSC CSE prelims syllabus, as the UPSC CSE preliminary stage acts as a common screening test for both exams. Candidates who pass the UPSC IFS preliminary test are invited to take the UPSC IFS main written exam. This stage will consist of two general papers and four optional papers, each lasting three hours.
UPSC IFS Syllabus for Prelims
The UPSC IFS Prelims will include two papers: Paper 1 General Studies I and Paper 2 General Studies II, often known as CSAT. The first paper assesses candidates’ general knowledge, such as current events, while the second paper checks their aptitude for forest service. The Indian Forest Services preliminary syllabus is as follows:
| Subject | Topics | Subtopic |
| General Studies | Current Affairs | Events of national importance |
| Events of international importance | ||
| Geography of India and World | Physical Geography of India | |
| Physical Geography of the World | ||
| Economic Geography of India | ||
| Economic Geography of the World | ||
| Social Geography of India | ||
| Social Geography of the World | ||
| History | Indian History | |
| Indian National Movement | ||
| Economic and Social Development | Social Sector Initiatives | |
| Inclusion | ||
| Sustainable Development | ||
| Poverty | ||
| Demographics | ||
| Indian Polity and Governance | Constitution of India | |
| Political System | ||
| Panchayati Raj | ||
| Rights Issues | ||
| Public Policy | ||
| Environment and Science | Environmental ecology | |
| Climate Change | ||
| Biodiversity | ||
| General Science | General issues on Science | |
| CSAT | Reading Comprehension | English |
| Interpersonal skills including communication skills | ||
| Reasoning | Logical reasoning | |
| Analytical ability | ||
| Decision-making | ||
| Problem-solving | ||
| General Mental Ability | Basic numeracy | |
| Numbers and their relations | ||
| Orders of magnitude | ||
| Data Interpretation | Charts | |
| Tables | ||
| Graphs | ||
| Data sufficiency |
UPSC IFS Syllabus for Mains
Every applicant granted the marks from this stage must have the Indian Forest Service Mains Syllabus PDF with them in order to be selected. The UPSC IFS Syllabus for Mains is divided into six main papers. There are four optional papers, from which candidates can choose two. The syllabus for the UPSC IFS main exam is given below:
UPSC IFS Syllabus for Compulsory Subjects
The required papers are General English and General Knowledge. Candidates have no choice of subjects for these papers. The topics covered in the UPSC IFS syllabus for compulsory papers are shown in the table below:
| Subject | Topics | Subtopic |
| General English | One Essay in English | Essay writing |
| Understanding of English | Workmanlike use of words | |
| Summary or Precis | Passage comprehension | |
| Summary writing | ||
| Precis writing | ||
| General Knowledge | General Knowledge | Knowledge of current events |
| General knowledge expected of an educated person | ||
| Indian Polity | Political system | |
| Constitution of India | Constitutional knowledge | |
| History of India | Historical events | |
| Geography | Geographical knowledge |
UPSC IFS Syllabus for Optional Subjects
In the UPSC IFS Mains, candidates must choose two optional subjects from a list of 14. Part A and Part B will make up the UPSC IFS Optional Paper. There will be eight questions in each optional subject paper, four in each section. The UPSC IFS Syllabus 2024 for optional papers is given below:
| Subject | Paper | Topic |
| Agriculture | Paper I | Ecology |
| Cropping patterns and related topics | ||
| Forestry plantations | ||
| Soil | ||
| Farm management | ||
| Agricultural extension, etc. | ||
| Paper II | Cell Theory | |
| Cytoplasmic inheritance | ||
| Seed technology | ||
| Physiology | ||
| Growth and development | ||
| Pests and diseases | ||
| Food production | ||
| Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science | Paper I | Animal Nutrition |
| Animal Physiology | ||
| Livestock Production and Management | ||
| Genetics and Animal Breeding | ||
| Paper II | Health and Hygiene | |
| Veterinary Public Health | ||
| Animal Diseases | ||
| Milk and Milk Products Technology | ||
| Meat Hygiene and Technology | ||
| Extension | ||
| Chemistry | Paper I | Atomic structure |
| Chemical bonding | ||
| Solid State | ||
| The gaseous state | ||
| Thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamics | ||
| Phase equilibria and solutions | ||
| Electrochemistry | ||
| Chemical kinetics | ||
| Photochemistry | ||
| Surface phenomena and catalysis | ||
| Bio-inorganic chemistry | ||
| Coordination chemistry | ||
| General chemistry of ‘f’ block elements | ||
| Non-Aqueous Solvents | ||
| Paper II | Delocalised covalent bonding | |
| Pericyclic reactions | ||
| Reactions | ||
| Chemistry and mechanism of reactions | ||
| Polymeric Systems | ||
| Synthetic uses of reagents | ||
| Photochemistry | ||
| Principles of spectroscopy and applications in structure elucidation | ||
| Agricultural Engineering | Paper I | Soil and Water Conservation |
| Aerial Photography and Remote Sensing | ||
| Irrigation and Drainage | ||
| Agricultural Structures | ||
| Paper II | Farm Power and Machinery | |
| Agro-energy | ||
| Agricultural Process Engineering | ||
| Instrumentation and Computer Applications in Agricultural Engineering | ||
| Botany | Paper I | Microbiology and Plant Pathology |
| Cryptogams | ||
| Phanerogams | ||
| Plant Utility and Exploitation | ||
| Morphogenesis | ||
| Paper II | Cell Biology | |
| Genetics, Molecular Biology and Evolution | ||
| Plant Breeding, Biotechnology and Biostatistics | ||
| Physiology and Biochemistry | ||
| Ecology and Plant Geography | ||
| Civil Engineering | Paper I | Strength of materials |
| Structural analysis | ||
| Engineering Mechanics | ||
| Structural Steel Design | ||
| Design of Concrete and Masonry Structures | ||
| Fluid Mechanics, Open channel flow, and Hydraulic Mechanics | ||
| Hydraulic Machine and Hydropower | ||
| Geotechnical engineering | ||
| Paper II | Construction Technology | |
| Construction Equipment | ||
| Survey and Transport Engineering | ||
| Hydrology, Water Resources, and Engineering | ||
| Environmental Engineering | ||
| Chemical Engineering | Paper I | Fluid and Particle Dynamics |
| Mass Transfer | ||
| Heat Transfer | ||
| Noval Separation Processes | ||
| Process Equipment Design | ||
| Process Dynamics and Control | ||
| Paper II | Material and Energy Balances | |
| Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics | ||
| Chemical Reaction Engineering | ||
| Chemical Technology | ||
| Environmental Engineering and Safety | ||
| Process Engineering Economics | ||
| Forestry | Paper I | Silviculture |
| Agroforestry, Social Forestry, Joint Forest Management and Tribology | ||
| Forest Soils, Soil Conservation and Watershed management | ||
| Environmental Conservation and Biodiversity | ||
| Tree Improvement and Seed Technology | ||
| Paper II | Forest Management and Management Systems | |
| Forest Working Plan | ||
| Forest Mensuration and Remote Sensing | ||
| Surveying and Forest Engineering | ||
| Forest Resources and Utilization | ||
| Forest Ecology and Ethnobotany | ||
| Forest Protection & Wildlife Biology | ||
| Forest Economics and Legislation | ||
| Mathematics | Paper I | Linear Algebra |
| Calculus | ||
| Analytic Geometry | ||
| Dynamics, Statics, and Hydrostatics | ||
| Vector Analysis | ||
| Ordinary Differential Equations | ||
| Paper II | Algebra | |
| Real Analysis | ||
| Complex Analysis | ||
| Linear Programming | ||
| Partial differential equations | ||
| Numerical Analysis and Computer programming | ||
| Numerical integration | ||
| Numerical solution of ordinary differential equations | ||
| Computer Programming | ||
| Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics | ||
| Mechanical Engineering | Paper I | Theory of Machines |
| Mechanics of Solids | ||
| Engineering Materials | ||
| Manufacturing Science | ||
| Manufacturing Management | ||
| Elements of Computation | ||
| Paper II | Thermodynamics | |
| I.C. Engines, Fuels and Combustion | ||
| Heat Transfer, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning | ||
| Turbomachine and Powerplants | ||
| Physics | Paper I | Classical Mechanics |
| Special Relativity, Waves & Geometrical Optics | ||
| Physical Optics | ||
| Electricity and Magnetism | ||
| Electromagnetic Theory & Black Body Radiation | ||
| Thermal and Statistical Physics | ||
| Paper II | Quantum Mechanics I | |
| Quantum Mechanics II & Atomic Physics | ||
| Molecular Physics | ||
| Nuclear Physics | ||
| Particle Physics & Solid State Physics | ||
| Electronics | ||
| Zoology | Paper I | Non-Chordata and Chordata |
| Ecology | ||
| Ethology | ||
| Economic Zoology | ||
| Biostatistics | ||
| Instrumental Methods | ||
| Paper II | Cell Biology | |
| Genetics | ||
| Evolution | ||
| Systematics | ||
| Biochemistry | ||
| Physiology | ||
| Developmental Biology | ||
| Statistics | Paper I | Probability |
| Statistical Inference | ||
| Linear Inference and Multivariate Analysis | ||
| Sampling Theory and Design of Experiments | ||
| Paper II | Industrial Statistics | |
| Optimization Techniques | ||
| Quantitative Economics and Official Statistics | ||
| Demography and Psychometry | ||
| Geology | Paper I | General Geology |
| Geomorphology and Remote Sensing | ||
| Structural Geology | ||
| Paleontology | ||
| Stratigraphy and Geology of India | ||
| Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology | ||
| Paper II | Mineralogy | |
| Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology | ||
| Sedimentology |
UPSC IFS Exam Pattern 2024
As previously stated, the UPSC IFS Exam 2024 consists of three primary phases, each of which applicants must pass in order to serve as officers in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change. The UPSC IFS Exam Pattern 2024 for the preliminary and main stages is as follows:
UPSC IFS Exam Pattern for Prelims
The UPSC IFS Prelims 2024 would be a screening test, with applicants shortlisted based on their performance in two objective-type papers. The marks from this stage will not be used to calculate the merit list. The UPSC IFS Preliminary Exam Pattern 2024 is:
- The nature of the exam is qualifying, so students must simply score higher than the IFS cutoff.
- There will be two 2-hour papers with MCQ-type questions.
- Candidates must achieve 33% on Paper 2 to be considered.
- For each incorrect answer in both IFoS prelims papers, a 1/3 mark will be deducted.
| UPSC IFS Prelims Exam Pattern 2024 | |||
| Paper | Total Questions | Total Marks | Negative Marking |
| General Studies Paper I | 100 | 200 | -0.66 marks |
| General Studies Pape II (CSAT) | 80 | 200 | -0.83 marks |
UPSC IFS Exam Pattern for Mains
Candidates who pass the UPSC IFS prelims move on to the main exam. This level includes six descriptive-type publications. The UPSC IFS syllabus for the main stage is the most essential since the score from this stage is used to construct the final merit list. The UPSC IFS Mains Exam Pattern 2024 is as follows:
- There are six papers, and each applicant has three hours.
- Papers I and II will be worth 300 points each, while the other papers will be worth 200.
- For Papers III, IV, V, and VI, applicants must select two optional subjects from the approved list, avoiding the combination of specific subjects as advised in the official announcement.
| UPSC IFS Mains Exam Pattern 2024 | ||
| Paper | Subject | Marks |
| Paper I | General English | 300 |
| Paper II | General Knowledge | 300 |
| Paper III | Optional I | 200 |
| Paper IV | Optional II | 200 |
| Paper V | Optional III | 200 |
| Paper VI | Optional IV | 200 |
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