One of the three All India Services (along with the Indian Police Service and India Administrative Service), the Indian Forest Service looks after the ecological security aspects of our country .It is thus the fundamental task of this Academy to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to equip the IFS cadres to effectively manage 23% of India’s geographical area.

Initially a constituent of Forest Research Institute & Colleges set up in 1938 to impart Professional Forestry Training to newly recruited Forest Officers, it was renamed as Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy in 1987 with the added status of staff college to train a cadre of competent forest managers at various levels including in-service trainings to manage India’s forest resources. The Academy conducts various training programmes to strengthen professional efficiency:

• Professional Forestry training for IFS Probationers through a series of class room sessions, tours, excursions and specialized modules. It nurtures young foresters capable of making difference in the management of ecological assets of our country besides inculcating human values and professional ethics amongst them.
• Skill Upgradation Programme for State Forest Service (SFS) officers inducted into IFS to sensitize and orient them to the ethos and functioning of All India Services and to keep them abreast with the rapidly changing scenario of forest management, development and administration.
• Mid Career Training (MCT) programme for IFS officers in three phases of the service viz III, IV and V meant for the seniority 7 to 9, 16 to 18 and 26 to 28 years respectively. It aims to provide best training opportunities to the officers by roping in some of the leading training institutions in the country and abroad. The officers get a chance to interact with the experts of respective fields and also get exposure to best management practices of natural resources in the foreign countries.
• Training programmes and workshops for the three All India Services, members of Higher Judiciary, exposure to Officer Trainees of other services with an endeavor to provide a platform for sharing experiences and new learnings in the field of forest management.