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UPSC Physical Eligibility 2023 – Medical Requirements & IAS Physical Eligibility

By Balaji

Updated on: March 22nd, 2023

IAS Physical Eligibility must be fulfilled by an individual aiming to become an IAS officer. The IAS Officer is considered one of the most crucial All India Services. The candidates must clear the UPSC civil service examination to serve the nation as an IAS officer. But clearing the IAS exam will not be helpful if an individual fails to meet the physical requirements for an IAS officer.

Though the IAS physical eligibility requirement is not much particular as that for IPS officers, there are specific physical standards that need to be fulfilled by an individual. Below you will learn about the UPSC physical eligibility concerning age, height, gender, etc., along with the medical requirements of IAS.

Table of content

(more)
  • 1. UPSC Physical Eligibility (more)
  • 2. UPSC Physical Eligibility For IAS (more)
  • 3. IAS Physical Eligibility Criteria (more)
  • 4. IAS Physical Test (more)
  • 5. IAS Age Limit (more)
  • 6. IAS Qualification (more)
  • 7. IAS Nationality Requirements (more)

UPSC Physical Eligibility

UPSC exam is conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission to appoint individuals, for technical and non-technical posts like IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, etc. UPSC physical eligibility includes minimum height, chest, and eyesight requirements for posts like IPS. According to the Union Public Service Commission, a candidate applying for the exam must be in good mental and bodily health.

Also, the candidate must be free from any physical defect interfering with discharging his duties as a civil servant. Any candidate called for the Physical or the Personality test may be required to undergo a medical examination.

Category UPSC Physical Eligibility for Technical Posts UPSC Physical Eligibility for Non-Technical Posts
Height 150 cm [For ST (except SC/ OBC)- 145 cm] for females and 165 cm[For ST (except SC/ OBC) – 160 cm] for males. No Minimum Requirements
Chest Min 79 cm for females and min 84 cm for males with an expansion of 5 cm No Minimum Requirements
Eyesight 6/6 or 6/9 distant vision for a good eye for males & 6/12 or 6/9 for worst eye. Near vision J 1 for good eye. J2 a for worst eye for females. 6/6 or 6/9 distant vision for good eye for males & 6/12 or 6/9 for worst eye. Near vision J 1 for good eye. J2 for the worst eye for females.

UPSC Physical Eligibility For IAS

Union Public Service Commission released the official notification for the age limit and physical requirements for becoming an IAS officer on their official website on 01 February 2023. The UPSC 2024 is expected to be released by the official authorities in February 2024. The candidates who want to apply for the exam must fulfill the following UPSC criteria-

  • Maximum Age for IAS Exam – Different for different categories
  • IAS Age Limit – 21-32 years
  • Nationality – Indian
  • IAS Qualification – Graduate from a recognized university.
  • IAS Attempt Limit – For the general category, a candidate has 6 attempts

IAS Physical Eligibility Criteria

Check here the UPSC eligibility criteria differ for male and female aspirants. Check the complete details as mentioned here. The minimum IAS Physical Eligibility criteria for the male and female candidate is given in the table below-

Category IAS Physical Requirements (Male) Physical Requirements for IAS (Female)
IAS Eyesight Requirements 6/6 or 6/9 distant vision for good eye 6/12 or 6/9 for the worst eye. Near vision J 1 for good eye. J2 for worst eye
IAS Height & Chest No minimum requirements No minimum requirements

According to the Union Public Service Commission, there are no minimum chest, weight, and height requirements for a candidate to be eligible for IAS. However, if an applicant has disproportionate measurements, he can be hospitalized for investigation and chest X-ray. Apart from the physical requirements for IAS, there are some medical requirements for IAS that are as follows-

  • IAS Eyesight Requirements: The candidate must have a 6/6 or 6/9 distant vision for a good eye. If not, it must be corrected using Spectacles or refractive surgery like IOL. ICL, LASIK, etc. However, individuals with myopia, degenerative macular charges, or conditions like night blindness are not permitted to serve as IAS officers. Also, people with a squint are eligible.
  • Blood Pressure: A candidate should have below 140/90 blood pressure. If someone has higher blood pressure, he is tested further in the hospital to check if the rise in Blood Pressure is because of excitement, anxiety, etc., or a permanent disease. If, after testing, the person is hypertensive, then he is not eligible and is considered unfit.
  • Blood Sugar: The Candidate should not have diabetes mellitus if he wants to clear the IAS exam.
  • Hearing Ability: The Candidate needs to be free from any ear disease, and the hearing ability should be good. If he has an ear disease, it needs to be corrected by an operation or a hearing aid.
  • Joint Movements: The candidate should have well-formed limbs, hands, and feet. There should not be any restrictions.
  • People with diseases like haemorrhoids, hydrocele, varicose veins, hernia, etc., are declared unfit.

IAS Physical Test

UPSC has prescribed specific eligibility criteria to select the candidates for the Civil services in India, especially for technical services like the Indian Police Service (IPS), Railway Protection Force (RPF), Pondicherry Police Service (PONDIPS), Delhi Andaman and Nicobar Police Service (DANIPS), and the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS). It includes physical measures like weight, height, chest, etc.

  • But non-technical services like the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) don’t require these measures. Instead, the candidates must fulfill the essential and mandatory physical health requirements.
  • According to the Department of Personnel and Training’s rule 21 of the Civil Services Exam rules, any candidate with excellent mental and bodily health is eligible to serve his duties as an IAS officer.

Though no physical test is done to check a candidate’s eligibility, a medical examination is done for all candidates appearing for the UPSC personality test at prescribed hospitals in Delhi.

IAS Age Limit

The Union Public Service Commission has prescribed the IAS age limit along with the number of attempts of a candidate. The minimum IAS age limit is 21 years. However, the maximum age limit varies according to the category. These are mentioned as follows-

Category Minimum Age Maximum Age Number of Attempts
IAS Age Limit for General 21 32 6
IAS Age Limit for SC 21 37 Unlimited
IAS Age Limit for OBC 21 35 9
IAS Age Limit for EWS 21 32 9
IAS Age Limit for ST 21 37 Unlimited
IAS Age Limit for Disabled Defence Services Personnel 21 35 9
IAS Age Limit for Ex-servicemen 21 37 9

How to Calculate IAS Age Limit?

The notification for the UPSC age limit 2023 has been released on the official website, you can calculate your eligibility as of 1st August 2023. The minimum age to appear for the exam is 21 years; thus, an individual appearing for the IAS exam 2023 must be 21 years old on 1st August 2023. Similarly, the upper limit for the UPSC exam is calculated as of 1st August 2023.

Though there is a set upper limit for the different categories, as per the latest UPSC Notification, the IAS age limit is relaxable except for the general category. The upper age limit relaxation of each category is as follows-

Category IAS Age Limit Relaxation
General No Relaxation
SC / ST 5 Years
OBC 3 Years
Disabled Defense Services Personnel 3 Years
Benchmark Disability- EWS 10 Years
EX-Servicemen 5 Years

IAS Qualification

As per the Union Public Service Commission, a candidate appearing for the IAS examination must possess a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university or an equivalent qualification. If a candidate is studying in his final academic year, he can also appear for the IAS Examination. However, those candidates have to provide proof of the same if required.

IAS Nationality Requirements

A candidate who wants to appear for the IAS examination needs to possess the following IAS Nationality Requirements-

  • They must be an Indian citizen, or
  • The subject of Bhutan, or
  • The subject of Nepal, or
  • PIO who is a migrant of Vietnam, Zaire, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Kenya’s East African countries, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Burma to settle permanently in India or,
  • A Tibetan refugee who enter India before 1 Jan 1962 to settle permanently in India.

However, all the candidates falling under categories 2 to 5 must possess an eligibility certificate issued by the Government of India.

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