Vanrakshak Bharti 2026 has no advertisement as of 20 September 2026. Here is the verified 60-question, 120-mark TCS iON pattern, section-wise strategy and a 12-week plan to be ready.
Vanrakshak Bharti 2026 means Maharashtra Forest Department Forest Guard recruitment, run circle by circle by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Nagpur. As of 20 September 2026 no advertisement has been issued: the last confirmed one was dated 8 June 2023, for 2,138 posts, and the recruitment page came down in late 2025.
Selection is an online CBT run by TCS iON, then physical standards (PST) and physical tests (PET), all at class 10 level. On 20 September 2026 mahaforest.gov.in carried no Vanrakshak advertisement, though its news feed was current on 19 September 2026. Prepare against the pattern below, last used in a real exam in January 2025.
The Vanrakshak online CBT carries 60 questions for 120 marks in 120 minutes, four options per question and 2 marks per correct answer. There is no negative marking, so attempt all 60. It runs four equal sections of 15 questions and 30 marks; you need 45 percent, that is 54 of 120.
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Questions | 60 |
| Total marks | 120 |
| Marks per question | 2 |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Negative marking | None |
| Qualifying cutoff | 45 percent, that is 54 of 120 |
| Marathi | 15 questions, 30 marks |
| English | 15 questions, 30 marks |
| General Knowledge | 15 questions, 30 marks |
| Bauddhik Chachani (Intelligence Test) | 15 questions, 30 marks |
The 12,991 figure circulating for Vanrakshak Bharti 2026 is not a Vanrakshak vacancy count. It traces to an unsourced December 2024 report on a proposal to create a different cadre, Vansevak; no resolution or advertisement carries it. The department's real vacancy across all cadres is about 2,408.
| What aggregators print | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| 12,991 posts | A December 2024 proposal for another cadre; real vacancy about 2,408 |
| A 2026 exam date | Nothing since 8 June 2023, none as of 20 September 2026 |
| 120 questions | 60 questions; 120 is the marks, at 2 marks each |
| 90 minutes | 120 minutes |
| 0.5 negative marking | No negative marking at all |
The last three rows are true of the retired 2019 cycle: 120 questions of 1 mark in 90 minutes, with a 0.5 deduction, all replaced in 2023.
The Marathi block is 15 questions and 30 marks of class 10 vyakaran, not literature. Real 2023 papers asked vakprachar and mhani meanings, shabdanchya jati, vakya prakar, pramanlekhan and virudhdharthi shabd. Balbharati grammar chapters cover it all, so this is the most scoring block for a Marathi medium candidate.
The English section is 15 questions and 30 marks, set entirely in English at class 10 level. Observed types include one word substitution, correct spelling, para jumbles and standard grammar. Keep it mechanical: revise tenses, prepositions, articles and subject verb agreement, and drill vocabulary daily.
General Knowledge is 15 questions and 30 marks, and the advertisement names its tilt: state geography, social history, forest, environment and climate. Expect Maharashtra and national history, tribes, physical geography and two statement formats. Weight social reform above dynastic history. Forest content is thin, roughly 1 to 3 questions out of 60, never at silviculture depth.
Despite the aggregator label "Arithmetic and Reasoning", this 15 question and 30 mark block has almost no computation. Real 2023 papers carry blood relations, number series, alphabet and letter group series, ordering, classification, direction sense and mirror image figures. Practise figure questions deliberately, because text only study skips them.
With no advertisement as of 20 September 2026 you have what candidates never get once a notification drops: unhurried time. Build a 12 week base now, then switch to mocks the day an advertisement appears, instead of starting from zero once the clock is already running.
| Phase | Focus | Daily split |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 4 | Concepts: vyakaran, grammar, Maharashtra geography, history, reasoning | Marathi 45 minutes, English 30, GK 60, Intelligence 45 |
| Weeks 5 to 8 | Topic sets plus forest, environment, climate and non verbal figures | Same split, plus 1 sectional test a day |
| Weeks 9 to 12 | Full 60 question mocks on the real 120 minute clock, then review | 1 full mock every 2 days |
Do not stop at 45 percent. In 2023, 114,245 candidates sat for 2,138 posts, about 53 per post, and 70.2 percent cleared it, median 62 of 120. Rank decides the job, on the combined 200 marks. Start with our Vanrakshak starter test series, then use section wise Vanrakshak practice tests for your weakest block.
Most avoidable losses on this paper come from preparing against the wrong pattern, or from misreading what the qualifying cutoff actually means. Four mistakes repeat every cycle, and each one is fixable long before an advertisement arrives.
Under the 8 June 2023 advertisement the education bar is 12th pass with one of Science, Mathematics, Geography or Economics; Scheduled Tribe and ex servicemen candidates need 10th (SSC). Marathi is required. Age is 18 to 27 open, 18 to 32 for backward class, orphan and EWS.
| Standard | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum height | 163 cm | 150 cm |
| Height, Scheduled Tribe | 152.5 cm | 145 cm |
| Chest, unexpanded and expanded | 79 cm and 84 cm | Not measured |
| Run (80 marks) | 5 km | 3 km |
| Full 80 marks for | 17 minutes or less | 12 minutes or less |
| Walk (qualifying) | 25 km in 4 hours | 16 km in 4 hours |
The order is: application, hall ticket, CBT, answer key, result, then measurement and the run for everyone at or above 45 percent, the merit list on 200 marks, and the walk. Pay is S-7, Rs 21,700 to 69,100, from the date of appointment; the 6 month training school course comes after you join.
These are the five questions candidates ask most often, answered against the Forest Department's own 2023 advertisement and its published result data. Where nothing has been announced, we say so plainly rather than filling the gap with a guess or a borrowed date.
Candidates who convert the next advertisement are already writing mocks. Sit a full paper on the real clock in our Vanrakshak full mock test series, or browse all Quiz4Exam exams.
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No. As of 20 September 2026 the Maharashtra Forest Department has issued no Vanrakshak advertisement. The last confirmed advertisement is dated 8 June 2023 and was for 2,138 posts, and the departmental recruitment page was taken down in late 2025. Watch mahaforest.gov.in for the next advertisement, and treat any page printing a 2026 exam date or application window as unverified.
The Vanrakshak online CBT, conducted by TCS iON, has 60 questions worth 120 marks in 120 minutes, with four options per question and 2 marks per correct answer. There is no negative marking. Four equal sections of 15 questions and 30 marks each cover Marathi, English, General Knowledge and Bauddhik Chachani, all set at class 10 level, with a 45 percent qualifying bar.
No, not under the current pattern. The 2023 advertisement carries no deduction clause, and every one of the 114,245 published candidate scores from that cycle is an even integer, which a 0.5 penalty could not produce. The 0.5 figure repeated by aggregator sites is a genuine rule from the retired 2019 cycle, which had 120 one-mark questions in 90 minutes.
No. The 12,991 figure traces to an unsourced December 2024 report about a proposal to create a different cadre called Vansevak, not to any Vanrakshak recruitment. No government resolution or advertisement carries it. The Forest Department's actual standing vacancy across all cadres, Groups A to D, is about 2,408, and the last advertised Vanrakshak strength was 2,138 posts.
Male candidates need a minimum height of 163 cm with a chest of 79 cm unexpanded and 84 cm expanded, while female candidates need 150 cm and no chest measurement. The Scheduled Tribe relaxation is 152.5 cm and 145 cm. The running test carries 80 competitive marks: 5 km for men and 3 km for women, with full marks for 17 and 12 minutes respectively.
