The Indian Foreign Service is the administrative diplomatic civil service under Group A and Group B. It is one of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India.
The members of the IFS represent the country in the international territory. The IFS is unlike other civil services as it deals with the country's external affairs like diplomacy, trade and cultural relations.
The IFS is responsible for framing the Government's foreign policies and management of Indian missions abroad.
The nationality of a candidate must be either of the following:
Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam
Candidate should hold a degree from any of the recognised universities or must have an equivalent qualification
Relaxable age limit is as follows:
The maximum number of attempts is as follows:
IFS officers deal with diplomacy, trade and cultural relations of the country
The UPSC has postponed the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Prelims exam scheduled on June 27 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission has announced that the IFS Preliminary will be held on October 10, 2021.
The official notice reads, "Due to the prevailing conditions caused by the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19), the Union Public Service Commission has deferred the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2021, which was scheduled to be held on 27th June, 2021. Now, this Examination will be held on 10th October, 2021."
14 May 2021
The UPSC has released the IFS interview dates 2021. Candidates who have passed with flying colours in the UPSC Mains exam were shortlisted for the final phase of the exam, i.e., interview.
The Commission will be conducting the IFS interview between April 26 and June 18, 2021. It will release the e-summons letters of personality tests (interviews) of the candidates will be available soon on the official website. The air tickets will be reimbursed booked through the Airlines or travel agents.
7 April 2021
The UPSC has released the IFS Mains Exam 2020 result on March 23, 2021. Candidates who have appeared for the IPS Mains examination conducted between January 8 and 17 can visit the official website to check the result.
The UPSC has released the list of candidates shortlisted for the personality test (PT)/ interview. The Commission will begin the interview process in the last week of April. The shortlisted candidates are required to fill up the attestation form online and submit the same online till April 5, 2021.
23 March 2021
The UPSC has released the marks of candidates recommended in the reserve list in Civil Services Main examination 2019. Candidates can check the marks list on the official website at upsc.gov.in.
The UPSC has released IFS reserve list 2019 on January 5 and recommended a total of 89 candidates for the Civil Services taking it to the total number of recommended candidates to 918.
The UPSC will release the Civil Services 2021 Prelims exam notification on February 10.
3 February 2021
The UPSC has released the IFS Mains admit card 2020. Aspirants who were shortlisted for the Civil Services Mains 2020 exam can download their admit card on the official website with their registration number or roll number.
The official notice reads, " The Commission has uploaded the e‐Admit Cards on its website. The eligible candidates are advised to download their e‐Admit Cards and take a printout thereof. No paper Admit Card will be issued for this examination by the Commission."
The IFS Mains 2020 exam will be held on January 8, 9, 10, 16 and 17, 2021. The Mains exam result will be declared in March 2021.
18 December 2020