Kanchan Devi, an IFS officer from the 1991 batch of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, was appointed as director general of Dehradun-based Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE). With over three decades of service, she became the first woman officer to hold this position.

• Kanchan Devi has expertise in various domains of forest, wildlife and their policies, Devi specialises in forest management, policies and administration. 
• She is among the few Indian IFS officers in the country who played a key role in setting up the Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management and implementation of the World Bank-funded Ecosystem Services Improvement Project (ESIP) at ICFRE.
• Devi served as deputy director general (education) for the past four years at ICFRE.
• Her contributions span her tenure in Madhya Pradesh and the central government, including her role as a faculty member at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy.
• She has been instrumental in promoting forest education in the country, accrediting forestry courses and conducting research on forest policy, fostering human resource development.