Google Docs is messed up, so I suggest you download the pdf version of this article.
[Explained]
Physically Challenged Candidates: Blindness/Deafness criteria
(visual/hearing impairment)
For UPSC Civil service Exam (India)
Preface
Many physically challenged people want to appear in civil service exam but they find it hard to gather the information regarding UPSC's criteria for claiming the benefits for physically disabled category (hardly any information is available on UPSC's site or on internet or in coaching classes). So I'm posting a compiled list of it, here. Btw, I'm not an expert-man on this, I'm only compiling the information scattered around in Gazettes and notifications.
Contents
Preface 1
Three things to keep in mind 2
#1: Technical vs. Non-technical jobs 2
#2: Know before applying, whether you’re handicapped or not! 2
#3: The Disabilities Act 1995: 3
What benefits do you get for being a physically challenged person? 3
Age relaxation 3
More attempts 3
No Fees for examination 3
Minimum qualifying marks (Reservation in seats / Vacancies) 4
Writer/ Scribe 4
Extra-time in Mains exam 4
Deafness/Hearing impairment 4
Who is deaf / what is hearing Impairment? 4
The medical tests / checkup to be done at the time of interview 4
Table: Guidelines regarding Medical Checkup of Deaf candidates 4
Eyes/Visual impairment/ Glasses/Blindness/ Night-blindness/One-eye/Squint 5
I've glasses / spectacles , Can I be IPS, IRTS,RPF OR Group 'B' Police-service not? 5
I've only one eye, Am I physically handicap or not? 7
Am I blind-candidate or not with 6/60? Or What are the criteria for blindness? 7
Table to calculate Percentage % Blindness 8
To claim blindness / physically handicap benifits, What kind of certificate do I need? 8
Do i need to attach my disability certificate with prelims form? 8
Color Vision standards in UPSC? 8
Night-blindness standards for UPSC? 9
What is partially blind and Low vision ? 9
Squint (Abnormal alignment of one or both eyes) ? 9
Pathological Myopia means unfit? 9
What is all this 6/6 and 6/12 etc? 9
Reference 9
About the Author 10
Three things to keep in mind #1: Technical vs. Non-technical jobs
1. Civil services are classified in two groups: Technical and non-Technical. See following table
| Non-Technical Services |
i. IPS ii. IRTS iii. RPF (Railways protection force) iv. Other police services Group A and B | 1. IAS, 2. IFS (foreign service) and 3. other central civil services (Group A and B) |
Here you need to meet stringent criteria regarding eye/ear/height/etc. physical requirements | No stringent criteria here |
Being physically challenged means you're unfit for Technical jobs (IPS, Railways etc.) [Except in few cases] and you're fit for non-technical jobs (like IAS,IFS, Revenue etc.)
● If you clear the prelims exam, UPSC sends to an application form for mains exam.
● Along with that, you’ve to submit your disability certificate + give preference for services Like IAS>IPS>IFS etc.
● If you clear the mains exams, UPSC will invite you for interview and perform a medical checkup on you.
● after mains + interview combined total marks, A merit list is made.
● you’ll be allotted to a service according to your merit number + whether you’re medically/physically fit for that job or not #2: Know before applying, whether you’re handicapped or not!
Civil service Exam is conducted in three phases :
● Prelims > Mains > Interview.
● You don’t need to show any disability certificate with your prelims application form (just tick in that form box, that you’re a physically challenged person.)
● but when you clear the prelims exam, you’ve to attach your disability certificate along with your mains form.
● Any mismatch / not meeting the criteria means UPSC will dis-qualify you. Hence it’s essential to know everything before.
● For example, A person with only one-working-eye(6/6) might think he falls in ‘blind’ category but he doesn’t, as per UPSC rules. #3: The Disabilities Act 1995:
UPSC notification says,
But there is a rider attached,
Physically handicapped candidates shall be required to meet special eligibility criteria in terms of physical requirements / functional classification (abilities/ disabilities) consistent with requirement of the identified service / post as may be prescribed by its cadre controlling authority. (for eg. Home ministry for IPS Job) What benefits do you get for being a physically challenged person? Age relaxation
● A general category candidate can’t give exam after 30 years (and four trials) but a blind, Deaf-mute, Orthopedically handicapped person gets +10 years relaxation. I.E you can appear in the exam, as long as you don’t attain 40 years Age on 1st august of that year.
● If you’re an SC/ST/OBC/Ex-serviceman/Person domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir, you get cumulative age relaxation benefit. I.e. SC/ST = +5 years relaxation and Physically Handicapped Sc/ST=+5+10=15 years age relaxation (means you can appear upto age of 45)
More attempts
● A normal general category candidate can appear only 4 times in the exam
● But a physically challenged person gets more trial/ attempts. Here it depends on which category you belong i.e.
● Physically handicapped belonging to SC/ST group = infinite attempt till age limit runs out (i.e. upto 45 years)
● Ph. Belonging to OBC = 7 attempts
● Ph. Belonging to General category=7 Attempts No Fees for examination
● A normal General category person has to pay Rs. 50 for appearing in the prelims exam, while a Physically handicapped person, SC/ST/OBC/Women are exempted from that. Minimum qualifying marks (Reservation in seats / Vacancies)
● The minimum qualifying marks may be relaxed at the discretion of the UPSC, in favour of physically handicapped candidates in order to fill up the vacancies reserved for them. Writer/ Scribe
Extra-time in Mains exam
● +20 minute extra time per hour, will be given in Each paper, to Candidates with locomotors disability and cerebral palsy where Dominant (writing) extremity is affected to extend of slowing performances of function (minimum 40% impairment) in civil service (mains) exam. However such candidate has to write answer on his own and can’t get a scribe like a blind candidate. Deafness/Hearing impairment
(Unfortunately) UPSC’s notification doesn’t mention who exactly is ‘deaf’? But
In Gazette of India (Extraordinary) published on 12th December 2008, pg.134, UPSC declared that,
That means you must fulfill the conditions given in that Act, in order to get benifits as a Deaf person. So according to that act, Who is deaf / what is hearing Impairment?
● "hearing impairment" means loss of sixty decibels or more in the better ear in the conversational range of frequencies; The medical tests / checkup to be done at the time of interview
● As you know civil service exam = 3 phases : Prelim > Mains > Interview
● Along with mains application, you’ve to attach the disability certificate
● At the time of interview, you’ll have to go through medical checkup by UPSC, in Delhi.
● If a candidate has defective ear, he’ll be sent to Ear specialist for further checkup.
● IF your ear-defect is remediable by operation /hearing aid, you can’t be declared unfit for the jobs(except Railways services)
● See Following guidelines Table: Guidelines regarding Medical Checkup of Deaf candidates
Sr. | Problem / defect | Result |
1 | Marked / total deafness in one ear, other ear is normal | Fit for non-technical jobs, If the deafness is upto 30 decibel in higher frequency. |
2 | Perceptive deafness in both eats in which some improvement is possible by heading aid | Fit in respect of both technical and non-technical jobs if the deafness is upto 30 db in speech frequencies of 1000-4000 |
3 | Perforation of tympanic membrane of central or marginal type | i. One ear normal, other ear perforation of tympanic membrane present. Temporarily untit. Under improved conditions of Ear surgery, a candidate with marginal or other perforation in both ears should be given a chance by declaring him temporarily unfit and then he may be consider under 4(ii) below. ii. Marginal or attic perforation in both ears = unfit iii. Central perforation in both ears = temporarily unfit
|
4 | Ears with mastoid cavity subnormal hearing on one or on both sides | i. Either ear normal hearing other ear mastoid cavity = fit for both non-technical + technical jobs! ii. Mastoid cavity of both sides. Unfit for technical jobs. Fit for non-tech jobs if hearing improves to 30 Decibel in either ear with or without hearing aid. |
5 | Persistently discharging ear : operated / un-operated | Temporarily unfit for both tech+ non.tech. jobs |
8 | Benign or locally malignant tumors of the ENT (ear/nose/throat) | i. Benign tumors = temporarily unfit ii. Malignant tumours= unfit |
9 | Otosclerosis: Hereditary disorder in which ossification of the labyrinth of the inner ear causes tinnitus and eventual deafness | If the hearing is within 30 decibels after operation or with the help of Hearing ait = FIT |
10 | Congenital defects of Ear, Nose or throat | i. If not interfering with function =fit ii. Stuttering of sever degree=unfit |
Eyes/Visual impairment/ Glasses/Blindness/ Night-blindness/One-eye/Squint I've glasses / spectacles , Can I be IPS, IRTS,RPF OR Group 'B' Police-service not?
There are two types of services offered by UPSC's Civil service Exam
Technical Services | Non-Technical Services |
1. IPS 2. IRTS 3. RPF (Railways protection force) 4. Other police services Group A and B | 1. IAS, 2. IFS (foreign service) and 3. other central civil services (Group A and B) |
Here, you need good eye , the correction is allowed only by glasses / spectacles. | here, you don't need good eyes. and correction is allowed by spectacles +Lasik surgery, Radial Keratotomy etc |
Long thing cut short, Limit of glasses/spectacles number for IPS etc jobs is
● -4.00 D (including cylinder) -non-pathological myopia*
● +4.00D (including cylinder)(Hyper-metropia)
● Must have high grade color vision. (Explained in the bottom FAQ section of this article)
● correction in eye problem is permitted only by Glasses and NO other means (like Lasik laser surgery or Radial Keratotomy)
*Must not have pathological myopia (explained in Bottom FAQ)
Now the table copy pasted from page 248
| Technical Services (IPS, RPF etc) |
| Non-Technical (IAS, IFS etc) |
|
| Better Eye (corrected vision) | Worse Eye | Better Eye (corrected vision) | Worse Eye |
Distant vision | 6/6 or 6/9 | 6/12 or 6/9 | 6/6 or 6/9 | 6/18 or Nil Or 6/12 (means can be blind) |
Near vision (J1, J2 note given @ bottom of this table) | J1 | J2 | J1 J2 | J3 to Nil*** J2 |
Types of correction permitted | Spectacles/ glasses |
| 10L(to be referred to special board of ophthalmologists) Radial Keratotomy Lasik Surgery |
|
Limits of refractive errors permitted | ● -4.00 D (including cylinder) -non-pathological myopia* ● +4.00D (including cylinder)(Hypermetropia) |
| None , but without Pathological Myopia (explained in bottom FAQ) |
|
Color vision requirements | High grade (explained in bottom FAQ) |
| Low grade |
|
Binocular vision requirement (Refer to squint in bottom FAQ) | Yes |
| No |
|
^J1/J2 = near vision for railway services (IRTS,IRAS,IRPS,RPF) is J1 in better eye and J2 in worse eye. I've only one eye, Am I physically handicap or not?
For example, one friend asked,
I have gone through a number of sources about this but a clear picture evades me. I am a one-eyed person (very limited vision in my right eye but 6/6 in the left).Is this a valid handicap/impairment?
For the purpose of UPSC rules, the candidates shall be deemed to be a blind if the % of visual impairment is 40% of more.
the criteria for determining the % of visual impairrment shall be as follow:-
[they've given a big table on page 138, I'm writing only your case.]
| Better eye | Worse Eye | Percentage |
One Eyed Person | 6/6 | F.C at 1 ft to NIL | 30% |
To see entire table, refer to Blindness criteria given in next question.
means you're below 40% = you're not a Blind/ Physically handicapped for UPSC rules.
now on page 249, Note (iii)
If a person has one eye, The Medical Board may recommend fit, such persons provided the normal eye has---
1. 6/6 Distant vision with or with out Glasses. and J/I near vision . (Glass number must not be more than 4.00 D for distant vision)
2. Has full field of vision
3. Normal color vision
The above relaxed standard of visual acuity will not apply to technical post/services. (which are IPS, other police services, Group A & B, IRTS/RPF)
so you're unfit for above jobs.
But for IAS,IFS and other Services: The eye requirement (WITH glasses correction or Radial keratotomy or Lasik Laser surgery)
● Better Eye 6/6 or 6/9
● Worse Eye 6/12 or 6/18 to NIL (= worse eye can be even blind)
thus you're physically fit to be in IAS/IFS or any other services. Am I blind-candidate or not with 6/60? Or What are the criteria for blindness?
the candidates shall be deemed to be a blind if the % of visual impairment is 40% or more.
the criteria for determining the % of visual impairrment shall be as follow:-
[they've a big table, I'm writing only your case.]
● Category I-With all correction surgeries, Radial keratotomy, Lasik surgery etc
● Better Eye=6/18 to 6/36
● Worse Eye=6/60 to NIL
● In above case, the % of visual impairment will be taken as 40%
so you'll be considered as Blind candidate in UPSC.
For more information, here is the Table to (page.138/Note-2) Table to calculate Percentage % Blindness
Category name | Better eye | Worse Eye | Percentage |
O | 6/9 to 6/18 | 6/24 to 6/36 | 20% |
I | 6/18 to 6/36 | 6/60 to Nil | 40% |
II | 6/60-4/60 or field of vision 10-20 degree | 3/60 to Nil | 75% |
III | 3/60-1/60 or field of vision 10 degree | F.C at 1 ft. to NIL | 100% |
IV | F.C at 1 ft. to NIL field of vision 100 degree | F.C at 1 ft. to NIL field of vision 100 degree | 100% |
One Eyed Person | 6/6 | F.C at 1 ft to NIL | 30% |
** Those suffering from Myopia will not get the concessions admissible to blind candidates. To claim blindness / physically handicap benifits, What kind of certificate do I need?
A candidate claiming to belong to physically challanged cateogry.... must submit a certified copy of the certificate issued by Medical Board duly Constituted by Central /State Govt. in the format given below. (the format is given in the application form, which you'll get after clearing prelims)
The Chairman and members of the medical board are supposed to tick in to it, and sign @ the bottom. Do i need to attach my disability certificate with prelims form?
If you claim physical disability , you don't have to show any documents with your prelim form, but Along with your mains form you've to attach the certificates, and during interview stage, they'll physically check you. Color Vision standards in UPSC?
Color vision means you can easily identify red/green/yellow colors.
They'll perform following two tests (google search for more info on them)
1. Ishihara's plates
2. Edrige Green's latern
For Technical services (IPS,RPF etc) you need high grade color perception, so refer following table. Night-blindness standards for UPSC?
Page 249(f)
There are two types of night-blindness,
1. Due to mal-nutrition and can be corrected by high doze of Vitamin A (Dark Adaption test)
2. Due to organic disease of Ratina (fundus examination by Electro-ratinography)
Both tests are time consuming, and require specialized setup.
so the concerned ministries/dept. need to tell UPSC, whether they want these tests done or not?
For railway services, Night-blindness need not be tested as a routine but only in special cases.
No standard test for testing of night-blindess is prescribed. What is partially blind and Low vision ?
UPSC Notifications talk about technical terms like
B 8. the blind
LV 9. Low Vision
PB.Partially blind.
but they've not provided the exact information like who exactly is low vision and who is partially blind (or perheps UPSC has explained it somewhere but I've not read the notification carefully.) Squint (Abnormal alignment of one or both eyes) ?
For technical services (IPS,RPF etc) where the presence of binocular vision is essential. Squint, Even if the vision acuity in each eye meets the standards , it should be considered a disqualification.
For other service, the presence of squint, should not be considered as Disqualification if the visual acuity of the prescribed standards.
For railways technical services, binocular vision is essential.
Ref. page 249,point g.(ii) Pathological Myopia means unfit?
In every case of Myopia, the fundus examination will be carried out and results recorded.
In event of pathological condition being present, which is likely to be progressive and affect the efficiency of the candidate, he / she should be declared unfit.
Ref.page 248/Point d.(ii) What is all this 6/6 and 6/12 etc?
in crude term,
6/6 = means you're normal eyed person.
6/12= when a normal eyed person can see upto 12 ft. you can only see uponto 6 ft.
In India we've 6/6 type of scale, in America they've 20/20 type of scale.
Reference
i. 'The Gazette of India : Extraordinary, Part-1, Published on Dec,12, 2008' (they'll send this big Gazette book to you, if you clear the prelims)
About the Author
● Name is Mrunal Patel (B.Pharm)
● I randomly write articles about civil service exam, so if you want to get them via email for free, click me
● I’m also moderator at indianofficer.com forum (it’s a forum where civil service aspirants meet and discuss, so if you’ve got any question or looking for answers, come over there.) ● Once upon a time, I cleared the UPSC’s civil services preliminary exam (2009)
● Alumni of
Guide for physically handicapped candidates regarding UPSC rules by Mrunal Patel (www.mrunalpatel.co.nr )
I provide Study Material,Notes,Question papers,Guidance For UPSC's Civil Services Exam (IAS,IPS) preparation in India. Went to LM college of Pharmacy, Cracked prelims in 2009, Moderator of Indianofficer.com forum
Indian Civil Service Exam related articles by Mrunal Patel are licensed under a Creative Commons India License.Based on a work at this site.Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at this page. (In short you're free to copy paste my work anywhere as long as you do it for non-commercial purpose, and just credit it to this site, whenever you copypaste!) 
