109 trainee IFS officers passed out from IGNFA, Midhunmohan topped

Rajkumar Dhiman, Dehradun: With the convocation of the year 2023-2025 batch of Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), the country got 109 IFS officers. These young officers will now serve as young forest officers in the state of their cadre. Apart from IFS, two trainee officers among those who passed out are also from friendly nation Bhutan. Madhya Pradesh state has got the maximum 17 officers. In the convocation ceremony, Midhunmohan SB of Kerala cadre got the all-round outstanding performance award.

The convocation of IGNFA was inaugurated by Justice V Ramasubramanian, Chairman of National Human Rights Commission, in the convocation hall of Forest Research Institute (FRI) on Wednesday. He gave various awards to the trainee IFS officers in accordance with their performance during training at the academy. Addressing the young officers, National Human Rights Commission Chairman Justice Ramasubramanian taught them to work in accordance with administrative responsibilities as well as moral and constitutional commitments.

Addressing the convocation ceremony, Academy Director Dr Jagmohan Sharma said that out of the total 111 trainee officers who passed out, 22 are women IFS officers. He expressed happiness and said that 50 officers of the batch have received honours diploma with more than 75 percent marks. On this occasion, FRI Director Dr Renu Singh along with various central and state forest department officials were present.

State wise young IFS officers
State, Number
Madhya Pradesh, 17
Uttar Pradesh, 12
Union Territory, 08
West Bengal, 06
Gujarat, 06
Odisha, 06
Tamil Nadu, 06
Karnataka, 06
Andhra Pradesh, 05
Himachal Pradesh, 05
Maharashtra, 05
Jharkhand, 04
Chhattisgarh, 04
Rajasthan, 04
Uttarakhand, 03
Assam (Meghalaya), 03
Haryana, 03
Bihar, 02
Kerala, 02
Punjab, 01
Telangana, 01
Tripura, 01

They got awards
Government of India Awards
All Round Outstanding Performance Award, Midhunmohan SB (Kerala)
Best All Round Forester, Pruthviraj KSB (Uttar Pradesh)
Topper in Core Forestry subjects, Shobhit Joshi (Madhya Pradesh)
P Srinivas Memorial Award, Ajay Gupta (Madhya Pradesh)
Sanjay Kumar Singh Memorial Award, Neelam (Uttar Pradesh)

Donner Prizes 
Hill Memorial Award, Shobhit Joshi (Madhya Pradesh)
DC Agarwal Award, MathurRC M (West Bengal)
E.P.Gee Wildlife Management Award, Sonu Kumar (Bihar)
RN Mathur Memorial Award, Ajay Gupta (Madhya Pradesh)
KP Sagareya Best Forester Award, Midhunmohan SB (Kerala)
Nilgiri Wildlife Club Award, Shubham Singh Tanwar (Karnataka)
Sulochana Naidu Memorial Award, Ajay Gupta (Madhya Pradesh)

Frontline students become doctors and engineers, lastline politicians
Dehradun: 111 trainee IFS officers of the 2023-2025 batch of Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) got deep learning in the convocation ceremony. On one hand, National Human Rights Commission Chairman Justice V Ramasubramanian taught the young officers to accept any change in life, and on the other hand, he also inspired them to strictly follow the rules.

Addressing the convocation ceremony of the trainee officers of Indian Forest Service (IFS) organized at Forest Research Institute (FRI), Justice V Ramasubramanian said that the students sitting in the first row are very sharp minded. They become doctors and engineers. On the other hand, the students in the middle row become civil servants and as administrative officers, they direct doctors and engineers. However, the students in the last row are not that good in studies, but when these students become politicians, they become capable of directing those in the first and middle rows. Therefore, young officers should always be ready for any change in life.

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Ramasubramanian told the young officers that when they will serve in their central states, then keep one thing in mind that they should not break many rules in life. One should not be afraid of transfers and dump postings for following the rules. Breaking rules can be beneficial in the short term, but this tendency proves to be fatal in the long term. He said that the whole meaning is hidden in the public servant. This is not a job, but a service. Therefore, the behavior with the citizens should be good. Also, always remember that never harass a subordinate with a lower salary. In the end, Justice V
Ramasubramanian, while giving the lesson of “Satyam Vad” (speak the truth), said that when you retire, your head should be held high with pride.

Changes in IGNFA training, now service in the state even before passing out
Dehradun: The batch of 111 young officers who passed out from Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy on Wednesday also became a part of the first change made in training. Till now, young officers used to serve in the allotted states only after training in the academy. But, for the first time in the year 2023, it was decided that the trainee officers would serve for four months in the allotted cadre before completing the training. During this period, the marks of how they worked in the states and how much experience they gained were also added to the marks of basic training under internal excellence.

Three young officers who came from the state of Uttarakhand described this change in training as very important in terms of learning. Young officer Aditya Ratna said that he got a chance to work in Barakuli Sitarganj range of Terai Forest Division for four months before passing out. During this period, he closely understood the challenges of human wildlife conflict and illegal mining. Along with this, he also got an opportunity to rescue rare cat fish in the concerned area. At the same time, young IFS officer of Uttarakhand cadre Pranali Ramesh Umre said that during her posting in Dehradun Forest Division, she experienced the real challenges of the field even before completing her training. Now when she will get a chance to enter the field, the experience of the training period will be very useful.

Similarly, young officer of Uttarakhand cadre Rajat Suman said that most of the work is done on theory during the training period. The changes made in the training module are also giving ground level experience. He told that he was posted in Haridwar Forest Division for four months. During this time, he came to know that human wildlife conflict is a big challenge in the forest department of Uttarakhand. He also got to learn the ways to overcome it. According to Rajat Suman, the number of forest-dependent communities in Uttarakhand is also quite high. In such a situation, there is a need to work on the concept of co-existence. In future, he will try to do better work on all these issues.

Learned love for nature from farmer father, chose forest service
Dehradun: The seeds of love for nature were sown in the life of Kerala resident Midhun Mohan SB, who was awarded the title of best trainee officer in the training of Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, since childhood. His father Mohan Das is a farmer and he also works as a daily wage laborer. Midhun Mohan SB said that being from a farmer family, he learned how important nature is in life. Human life cannot be imagined without natural resources. Therefore, he likes to conserve nature. This is the reason why Midhun Mohan SB chose the path of Indian Forest Service.

Pruthviraj KSB, who passed out from the academy, is a resident of Karnataka. However, he has got Uttar Pradesh cadre. He says that harmony with forests is very important in human life. Now forest conservation is his profession, but he is a nature lover by nature. Therefore, he adopted the same path in professional life as well. In a conversation with Jagran, Prithviraj said that his cadre state Uttar Pradesh gives more importance to plantation. Therefore, this campaign will be taken forward as soon as one joins the service. Along with this, efforts will also be made towards co-existence between humans and wildlife.

Shobhit Joshi, who stood third in the academy training, is a resident of Haldwani in Uttarakhand. His father Manohar Chandra Joshi was a state employee and mother Kamla Joshi is a housewife. Shobhit has got Madhya Pradesh cadre. Shobhit told that for forest service you should also be a forester by nature. He said that Uttarakhand is a forest-rich state. Due to which forests have always attracted him. This has also been a big reason why he opted for Indian Forest Service.