What is the disability quota in UPSC exams? Here's all you need to know

UPSC's sanctity is in question nowadays after the case of IAS Pooja Khedkar's disability quota surfaced. Here's all about disability quota in UPSC exams

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The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is among the most trusted autonomous agencies in the government of India. However, the sanctity of the commission is being questioned nowadays after the case of IAS Pooja Khedkar surfaced. Khedkar passed the top UPSC exam through physical disability criteria by submitting visual impairment and mental illness certificates. She would have failed to secure the IAS position without those certificates.

Khedkar postponed a medical examination by the UPSC six times citing different reasons and submitted an MRI report from an external medical agency. UPSC rejected the reports initially but accepted the report later. This raised a demand for an investigation into UPSC. This incident led to widespread criticism of how the UPSC functions, and questions about the disability quotas spreaded on social media.

What is a Disability Quota?

A disability quota in UPSC is a reserved percentage of positions designated for individuals with disabilities. This quota aims to give equal opportunities in education, employment, and other sectors to persons with disabilities. 

In India, there is a dedicated law called the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 to protect the rights of persons suffering from any disability, like hearing pair, blindness or low vision, hearing impairment and locomotor disabilities or cerebral palsy with each category receiving a percentage each. 

Disability Quota in UPSC Exams

The UPSC also has a reservation policy for disabled people that aligns with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 and the Government of India's guidelines on reservation for persons with disabilities. 

It reserves four per cent of its vacancies for candidates with disabilities, which is divided into disabilities such as hearing impairment, visual impairment, locomotor disabilities, autism, multiple disabilities, and intellectual disability.

According to UPSC, a minimum of 40 per cent disability should be present in a candidate to avail of these reservation benefits.

The commission provides relaxation in age limits, number of attempts and special provisions in exam centres for physically handicapped candidates. 

The physical standard required for UPSC civil services varies for each position. Here's a detailed list of specific physical requirements for each service.

• Indian Administrative Service (IAS)- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Foreign Service (IFS)- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Central Excise, Grade A)- Locomotor Disability, Hearing Impaired
• Indian P&T Accounts & Finance Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Audit & Accounts Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Defence Accounts Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability
• Indian Revenue Service (IT), Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Ordnance - Locomotor Disability
• Factories Service, Grade A- Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Postal Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Civil Accounts Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Railway Accounts Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Railway Personnel Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Railway Traffic Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability
• Indian Defence Estates Services, Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Information Service, Grade A- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Trade Service, Grade A (Grade III)-- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Indian Corporate Law Service-- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Grade B (Section Officer Grade)-- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli
• Civil Service, Grade B-- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired
• Pondicherry Civil Service, Grade B-- Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impaired