NEW DELHI: Senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Santosh Tewari has been appointed the new Director General of Forests (DGF) and Special Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India.
A 1993-batch Bihar-cadre IFoS officer, Tewari was already serving as Additional Director General of Forests (ADGF) at the Centre and had emerged as one of the names in contention for the country’s top forest bureaucracy post.
His appointment comes as the post fell vacant following the retirement of Sushil Kumar Awasthi, 1991 batch IFS officer from the UP cadre, who completed his tenure as Director General of Forests on September 30, 2026.
Tewari’s elevation puts a senior officer with more than three decades of experience in Bihar’s forest administration as well as central forest and environmental institutions at the helm of the country’s apex forest administration.
Who Is Santosh Tewari?
Mr Tewari is a 1993-batch direct-recruit Indian Forest Service officer of the Bihar cadre.
He has spent more than 32 years in the Indian Forest Service, working across state-level forest administration, regional offices of the Environment Ministry and senior positions at the Centre.
Before his elevation as Director General of Forests, he was serving as Additional Director General of Forests (Forest Conservation) at the MoEF&CC headquarters in New Delhi.
His current appointment elevates him to the position of DGF and Special Secretary to the Government of India, making him the senior-most forest officer in the central government.
Educational Background
Mr Tewari has a strong academic background in science and technology.
He holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) as well as a Master of Technology (M.Tech.) degree.
His academic training in science and technology complements the technical and scientific dimensions of forest administration, which increasingly involves areas such as remote sensing, forest mapping, environmental monitoring, conservation technology and climate-related policy.
From Bihar Forest Administration to the Centre
IFS Tewari’s career has combined extensive experience in his parent Bihar cadre with several important central deputation assignments.
During his years in Bihar, he worked in the field administration of the state’s forest department, gaining experience in implementing forest policies and managing forest resources at the ground level.
His cadre experience also involved dealing with issues such as forest conservation, afforestation, wildlife and human-animal interactions and environmental administration.
This field exposure was followed by a series of increasingly senior assignments under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Important Central Assignments
One of the significant phases of Mr Tewari’s central career began with his appointment as Deputy Director General of Forests (DDGF), Integrated Regional Office, Ranchi, where he served from 2021 to 2023.
The Ranchi regional office deals with important aspects of forest conservation and environmental administration across the region, including scrutiny and monitoring of proposals involving forests and development projects.
Tewari subsequently moved to Dehradun, where he served as Deputy Director General of Forests in the Regional Office from 2023 to 2025.
The Dehradun regional establishment is particularly significant because of its association with forest conservation and environmental administration in the Himalayan and northern forest regions.
His regional assignments provided him with experience in implementing central forest-conservation frameworks at the state and inter-state level.
Became Additional DG Forests in 2025
Tewari was subsequently elevated to the position of Additional Director General of Forests at the MoEF&CC headquarters in New Delhi.
He served as ADGF (Forest Conservation) during 2025-26, dealing with matters relating to forest conservation and the implementation of the Centre’s forest-related policies.
His move to the ministry’s headquarters brought him directly into the national-level policy and regulatory framework governing India’s forests.
It was during this period that his name began to figure prominently among the senior officers being considered for the Director General of Forests position.
Also Held Additional Charge of Forest Survey of India
IFS Tewari’s responsibilities at the Centre expanded further in November 2025, when he was given additional charge as Director General of the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun.
The FSI is the country’s premier institution for assessing and monitoring India’s forest resources.
It conducts forest-cover assessments using remote sensing and other technologies and publishes the biennial India State of Forest Report (ISFR), one of India’s key official assessments of the country’s forest resources.
His association with FSI therefore added another important dimension to his administrative experience, particularly in the areas of forest mapping, data, remote sensing, satellite-based assessment and forest-resource monitoring.
More Than Three Decades of Forest Service
Mr Tewari’s career has now taken him through three broad levels of forest administration – field-level responsibilities in Bihar, regional environmental administration through MoEF&CC offices and national-level policymaking at the ministry headquarters.
His assignments at Ranchi and Dehradun exposed him to the implementation of central forest-conservation policies across different geographical regions, while his work at the MoEF&CC headquarters gave him experience in national policy formulation.
His stint with the Forest Survey of India also brought him closer to the country’s forest-monitoring and assessment architecture.
This combination of field, regional and central experience now forms the backdrop to his appointment as Director General of Forests.
New Role as Director General of Forests
As Director General of Forests and Special Secretary, IFS Tewari will head the country’s top forest bureaucracy under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The position involves advising the government on a wide range of issues relating to forest conservation, wildlife management, afforestation, environmental policy, climate change and India’s international environmental commitments.
The DGF also plays a central role in coordinating forest policy between the Union government and state forest departments.
At a time when forest conservation increasingly intersects with infrastructure development, climate commitments, biodiversity protection and technology-driven forest monitoring, the post carries responsibilities extending well beyond traditional forest administration.
He Succeeds Sushil Kumar Awasthi
Mr Tewari takes over the position following the retirement of Sushil Kumar Awasthi, who served as Director General of Forests until September 30, 2026.
The vacancy created by Awasthi’s retirement had triggered speculation over the appointment of his successor, with Tewari’s name already doing the rounds among senior IFoS officers.
His eventual elevation now places a 1993-batch officer at the head of the country’s forest administration.
A Bihar-Cadre Officer at the Helm of National Forest Administration
Tewari’s appointment is also notable because of his long association with the Bihar cadre.
While a substantial part of his recent career has been spent on central deputation, his formative experience came from working within the state forest administration.
That combination of state-cadre experience and central exposure is significant for the DGF’s role, where coordination between the Union government and state forest departments is an important part of the job.
Over three decades, Tewari has consequently moved from managing forest administration at the state level to overseeing regional implementation of national policies and finally to the top policy position in the country’s forest establishment.
A Career Spanning Field Administration, Conservation and Technology
Mr Tewari’s career trajectory reflects the changing nature of forest administration in India.
His early Bihar postings gave him experience in field forestry and state-level forest management. His subsequent assignments with the MoEF&CC’s regional offices brought him into forest conservation, regulatory oversight and environmental administration.
His tenure with the Forest Survey of India added an important technology and data component through India’s national forest-monitoring system.
At the MoEF&CC headquarters, meanwhile, he worked on forest-conservation policy at the national level.
His appointment as DGF now brings these different strands of experience together in the country’s highest-ranking forest service position.
What Lies Ahead for the New DGF?
As Director General of Forests, IFS Tewari will be responsible for steering the central government’s forest administration at a time when issues surrounding forest conservation, biodiversity, climate change, wildlife protection, ecological restoration and developmental pressures on forest land remain closely interconnected.
His previous experience in forest conservation and regional implementation, combined with his exposure to forest data and national policy, will form an important part of his administrative background as he takes charge of the post.
For the 1993-batch Bihar cadre IFoS officer, the appointment marks the culmination of more than three decades of service spanning the forests of his parent cadre, regional offices of the Environment Ministry, the Forest Survey of India and the national forest policy establishment.
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