 | This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. (January 2021) |
| Service Overview | |
 Motto: अरण्यः ते पृथ्वी स्योनमस्तु (Sanskrit) "The Forest is Earth's delight" | |
| Formerly known as | Imperial Forest Service |
|---|---|
| Date of establishment | 1864 (as Imperial Forest Service) 1966 (as Indian Forest Service) |
| Country | India |
| Staff College | Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun, Uttarakhand |
| Cadre Controlling Authority | Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change |
| General nature | Governmental, Natural Resources |
| Cadre strength | 3131 (2182 Direct Recruits and 949 Promotion Posts) |
| Website | ifs |
| Service Chief | |
| Director General of Forests | Shri Jitendra Kumar, IFS |
| Head of the All India Services | |
| Cabinet Secretary | T. V. Somanathan, IAS |
The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is the premier forest service of India.[1][2][3] It was constituted in the year 1966 under the All India Services Act, 1951.
The service implements the National Forest Policy[4] in order to ensure the ecological stability of the country through the protection and participatory sustainable management of natural resources. The members of the service also manage the National Parks, Tiger Reserve, Wildlife Sanctuaries and other Protected Areas of the country. A Forest Service officer is wholly independent of the district administration and exercises administrative, judicial and financial powers in their own domain. Positions in state forest department, such as District/Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Conservator of Forests, Chief Conservator of Forests and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests etc., are held, at times, by Indian Forest Service officers. The highest-ranking Forest Service official in each state is the Head of Forest Forces. A forest service officer also hold positions of Chairman and Member Secretary in the State Pollution Control Boards.
Earlier, the British Government in India had constituted the Imperial Forest Service in 1867 which functioned under the Federal Government until the Government of India Act 1935 was passed and responsibility was transferred to the provinces.
Administration of the Service is the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- ^ "Public Service". Official website of Government of India.
- ^ "rti". Upsc.gov.in. 31 December 1997. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ^ "Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy : Indian Forest Service". Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ^ "NFP 1988" (PDF). Envfor.nic.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2015.