Comparison of Initial Professional Training of Senior Forestry Personnel in India

Forest resources of India which are mainly under the control of Government are managed by Forest Department. Indian Forest Service (IFS), State Forest Service (SFS) and Range Officers (ROs) are the three services ment for the management of the forest were constituted by British Government and are more than one hundred years old. For the initial professional training of these three services Union Government is responsible and for this purpose there are specialized institutes established in different parts of country. Entry level requirements for these three services are almost same but there is a difference in the level of competition. Training pattern is different for these three services but otherwise similar in their contents with few differences in details. On the whole, there does not look any coordination in development of curriculum of these three trainings. They need a better co-ordination and synchronization, keeping in view the job requirements at three levels. A unified command for three trainings below the level of Ministry of Environment and Forests may prove to be helpful in this direction.