How to Become an IFS Officer?

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how to become IFS


In this competitive world, everyone seeks a professional position to gain respect and appreciation from the people around. To fulfil this need students prepare for government jobs and exams. One such powerful and reputed government service that is most sough-after in India is IFS. IFS stands for Indian Foreign Service. There are a few things that you need to do to become an IFS officer. You just have to gather all the information about how to become an IFS officer from various sources.

Are you thinking about how to become an IFS officer in India then this article will provide you with most of the information that you need. There are many civil services in India and all these services together form the government of India and help country run smoothly. These services are divided into two groups which are group A and group B. IFS is placed in group A and it is in of the popular choice among the students who are preparing for the civil services. The important factor of getting shortlisted is studying for IFS officer exam and cracking it.

This post is one of the popular choices after the post of IAS and IPS, therefore, the students who have decent marks in the entrance exam of the civil services exam will get selected for the training period of IFS. Read on to know how to become an IFS officer step by step.

Role of An IFS

  • As you might know that this job plays an important role in the ministry of external affairs, prime ministers office, and Indian embassies around the world.
  • The important role of an IFS officer is to maintain the external relation of India with other countries.
  • There also have to handle diplomatic relations with other countries. This is one of the toughest jobs when it comes to diplomacy.
  • This is one of the challenging jobs but it is worth it because it will provide you with a handsome salary with other privileges such as a pension, housing, and medical benefits among others.
  • It will give you more respect in society.

Also, Read: How to Become an IFS Officer?

How to Become an IFS Officer?

As we know that this is one of the challenging and demanding jobs of the country, therefore, you have to work hard for this post. It will secure your future and comes with a lot of pride.

Study for IFS officer post is really important for the selection. Only those students who have cutoff marks in the entrance exam will be selected for this post. The competition for the post of IFS is very high and is increasing every year. The Government of India, hires the talented for which, they give a task to UPSC which will conduct an entrance exam for this post. UPSC conducts the civil services exam except for the state services. Based on the marks the prelims, mains and interview, you will get selected for the this dream job of yours.

The interview being the toughest part checks candidates personality, attitude and thinking process. The expert panel asks many questions about general knowledge, your previous experience, your optional subject, current affairs and other sectors. You just have to handle that situation very calmly and answer straight forward. If you have no idea about a topic being asked don’t play other way round, just said you are not sure about the topic.

How to become an IFS officer in India is one of the popular questions by Civil Services aspirants. The answer is easy, you have to put your 100% efforts and crack the exam.

IFS Examination

Do you know how to apply for IFS Officer examination? To fulfill your dream you need to apply for the exam first. The next step is to prepare and crack the exam conducted by the UPSC. On successfully getting shortlisted you will undergo a training program for IFS officer.

Civil services exam is one of the most challenging exams to crack. You just have to focus on your goal and avoid all distractions.

Detail Information About Examination for IFS

Civil services exams are known as one of the toughest exams in the world. If you want to get selected for this post then you have to know all the information and criteria for this examination. This exam is conducted by UPSC only one time a year. The selection process of civil services exam include three phases:

  • Preliminary examination
  • Mains examination
  • Interview

Every year many candidates apply for the civil services preliminary examination but only a few of them are selected for the mains examination which is based on their marks in the preliminary examination. If you want to crack the preliminary examination than you have start your preparation early and keep it smart.

If you still wondering how to apply for an IFS officer, you have apply through the official website of UPSC for civil services exam. Then you have to appear for prelims exam, the paper of preliminary examination is objective types and it is based on the general studies and aptitude test. Both the paper will check your basic knowledge and when you clear this examination then you will called to apply for the mains examination of the civil services.

The second stage of the civil services examination is the mains. This exam has nine papers and if you crack all of them then you will get selected for the interview stage. This is one of the toughest parts of the examination. The last stage of this examination is the interview. You have to be calm and confident in the interview. After the successful interview, you will get selected for the IFS officer training program.

Eligibility Criteria

Know that you know how to apply for an IFS officer you must also know the eligibility criteria for it. There are many requirements that you should meet when applying for the civil services examination.

Required educational qualification for civil services exam:-

When you are applying for the civil services exams then you have to follow all the requirements which are under –

  • You need to have a degree from a recognized university in India.
  • You have to bring a certificate of your degree from the University when you apply for the main exam. If you do not provide any documents of your degree certificate then you can not able to give the main exam.
  • You have to follow all the rules laid down by the UPSC when applying for the examination.
  • Final year students are also eligible to apply provided they get their degrees by the time it is required as a proof.

Age limit:-

  • General category candidates applying for Civil Services Exam must be in between 21 to 30 years.
  • Candidates belonging to OBC category have max age 35 years.
  • Upper age limit for SC/ST candidates is 37 years.
  • Candidates who are backward with other factors and physically handicapped, for them there is no upper age limit.

You must read the latest official notification released by UPSC to confirm and know the latest requirements, exam pattern and syllabus.

Nationality:-

If you are thinking of applying for the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service then you must be a citizen of India. If you are not a citizen of India then you can’t apply for these services.

For the other services such as Indian Foreign Service following the compulsory requirements. The candidates who are applying for the IFS must fulfill one of the following conditions.

  • They have to be a citizen of India.
  • They have to be a citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan.
  • If the candidate is of Indian origin who has migrated from other countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Myanmar, or Vietnam to permanently settle in India.

IFS posts and career growth:-

After all the hard sweat, you become an IFS, clearing written exams and interview. Now the next step is the growth in your career, it is something that everyone seeks in his/her career.

IFS officers selected through UPSC exam get their first training at LBSNAA which is located in Mussoorie. This training program is for around 15 weeks. Upon completion of this program you will get the joining letter of the Foreign Service Institute in New Delhi. You have to go to that institute for further study and they will give you the basic knowledge of all departments in the Foreign Services. After all this process you get a posting.

The following are some areas in which candidates are trained for a great future –

  • International relations theory
  • Trade
  • History
  • Military diplomacy
  • International law
  • India’s foreign policy
  • International law
  • Diplomatic practice

When you get your posting, then you will be inducted as a third secretary in the embassy. The third secretary is the entry-level position offered. With the time, you will be promoted to the next stage. When you get promoted to the higher level you will see a rise in responsibilities and payment as well. You will get promoted to the higher post such as Secondary Secretary, Counsellor, Deputy Chief of Mission or Deputy High Commissioner or Deputy Permanent Representative and Ambassador or high commissioner or permanent representative.

If you get the posting at MEA then you will be inducted as Assistant Secretary or Under Secretary. On getting experience you will get promoted to higher post such as Deputy Secretary, Director, Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary, and Foreign Secretary of India.

Wrapping Up

Know you know how to apply for an IFS officer and how is the career growth. The gateway to becoming an IFS is the UPSC civil services examination that you need to crack. Working as an IFS is a great responsibility and that is the reason why the selection process is tough. To all the aspirants dreaming of becoming future IFS, we wish you all the luck. Hope this page helps you.

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