CDS Eligibility Criteria

Nationality

All the important details including the eligibility criteria are mentioned by the authorities in the CDS 2 2022 Notification. The Nationality requirements of CDS are listed below.

•  A Citizen of India,
•  A subject of Bhutan or Nepal
•  A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before January 1962 intending to permanently settle in India,
•  A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, and Ethiopia or Vietnam intending to permanently settle in India.

Note:

•  Candidates under points 2, 3, 4, and 5 must have a certificate or proof issued by the Indian Government in favor of their statement.
  

  Ø  Candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal are not required to show any kind of certificate of CDS eligibility.   Ø A candidate in whose case a certificate of CDS eligibility 2022 is necessary may be admitted to the examination provisionally subject to the necessary certificate being given to him/her by the Govt. before the declaration of result by UPSC.

 Age Limit and Marital Status

According to CDS guidelines, female candidates can apply only for OTA while male candidates can apply for any post of CDS Examination, as long as they fulfill other eligibility criteria. The details about the age limit and required marital status are given below.

Points to Remember

•  Male divorcee/ widower candidates will not be treated as unmarried. So, they will not be considered eligible for CDS Exam.
•  The date of birth that is entered in the Matriculation/Secondary School Examination Certificate or a certificate recognized by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or any equivalent examination certificate will be accepted by UPSC.
•  No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporation, service records, etc. will be accepted. No change in date of birth will be allowed subsequently on any ground.
•  During the verification process or at any stage of the exam, if it is found that the date of birth which the candidate has entered in the application form does not match with a valid certificate, disciplinary action will be taken against them by the Commission under the rules.

Educational Qualification

As mentioned above, candidates appearing for the CDS  exam must have completed their Graduation or at least be appearing for the final exam of the degree. It is important to remember that the CDS admit cards are issued only for candidates who fulfill all the eligibility criteria.

Note:

Physical Standards for Male & Female

Candidates must be physically and mentally fit as per the guidelines of UPCS. A good number of qualified candidates get disqualified on medical grounds. Therefore candidates are strongly advised to get themselves medically tested before applying for CDS Exam. The most commonly found reasons for dis qualification are listed below.

•  Wax (ears) Deviated Nasal Septum
•  Hydrocele/Varicocele/Phimosis
•  Overweight/Underweight
•  Piles
•  Gynaecomastia

Note:

Other Standard

CDS Eligibility Criteria:

•  Other Physical Standards

Other than heights and weight ratio, there are several physical criteria that candidates should meet to prove their physical fitness:

•  Visual Standards

UPSC has specified three types of visual standards for all academies:

For IMA and OTA

•  Uncorrected vision(max allowed) – 6/60 &6/60
•  BCVA – Rt 6/6 & Lt 6/6
•  Myopia – < -3.50 D Sph ( including max astigmatism ≤ +/- 2.0 D Cyl)
•  Hypermetropia – <+3.50 dSph ( including max astigmatism ≤ +/- 2.0 D Cyl)
•  Lasik/equivalent surgery – Permitted
•  Colour perception: CP II

For Naval Candidates

•  Uncorrected without glasses: 6/12, 6/12
•  Corrected with glasses: 6/6, 6/6
•  Limits of Myopia: -1.5D
•  Limits of Hypermetropia : +1.5D
•  Binocular Vision: III
•  Limits of Colour Perception: I

For Air Force

Candidates who habitually wear spectacles are not eligible for Air Force. Minimum distant vision 6/6 in one eye and 6/9 in other correctable to 6/6 only.

Hypermetropia Colour Vision CP-1

•  Hypermetropia: +2.0 d Sph
•  Manifest Myopia: Nil
•  Retinoscopic Myopia- 0.5 in any meridian
•  Astigmatism : +0.75 D Cyl (with + 2.0 D- Max)

Maddox Rod Test

•  at 6 meters:

•  Exo-6 prism D
•  Eso-6 prism D
•  Hyper-1 prism D
•  Hypo-1prism D
•  at 33 cms:
•  Exo-16 prism D
•  Eso-6 prism D
•  Hyper-1 prism D
•  Hypo-1 prism D

* Lasik/equivalent surgery

Candidates who have undergone any kerato-refractive procedures are required to show certificate/ operative notes from the medical center specified the date, type of surgery, and procedure. The candidates also need to fulfill following criteria to be considered fit.

•  More than 20 yrs of age at the time of surgery
•  Minimum 12 months post LASIK
•  Central corneal thickness equal to or more than 450 µ
•  The axial length by IOL Master equal to or less than 26 mm
•  Residual refraction of less than or equal to +/- 1.0 D incl cylinder, (provided acceptable in the category applied for).
•  A normal healthy retina.
•  Corneal topography and ectasia markers can also be included as additional criteria.

Hearing Standards for Air Force

Conditions related to ear and hearing standards are:

Speech test:

Free Field hearing loss is a cause for rejection. Any reduction of less than 600 cm in CV/FW is not acceptable.

Audiometric Test:

•  Audiometric loss should not be greater than 20 dB, in frequencies between 250 and 8000 Hz. On the recommendation of an ENT Specialist, an isolated unilateral hearing loss up to 30 DB may be condoned provided ENT examination is otherwise normal.
•  A radical/modified radical mastoidectomy entails rejection even if completely epithelialized and good hearing is preserved. Cases of cortical mastoidectomy in the past with the tympanic membrane intact, normal hearing, and presenting no evidence of disease may be accepted.
•  Cases of chronic otitis externa accompanied by exostoses or unduly narrow meat will be rejected. Exaggerated tortuosity of the canal, obliterating the anterior view of the tympanic membrane will be a cause for rejection.

Tympanoplasty Type :

I is acceptable twelve weeks after surgery, provided the ear clearance test in the altitude chamber is normal. The following middle ear conditions will entail rejection:-

•  Attic, central or marginal perforation.
•  Tympanic membrane scar with marked retraction.
•  Tympanoplasty Type II onward but not type I.
•  Calcareous plaques (tympanosclerosis) if occupying more than 1/3 of pars tensa.
•  Middle ear infection.
•  Granulation or polyp in the external auditory canal.
•  Stapedectomy operation.
•  Otosclerosis
•  Meniere’s disease
•  Vestibular dysfunction including nystagmus of vestibular origin.
•  Bell’s palsy following an ear infection.