Jai Hind warriors, today we are going to look at one of the most important issue concerning a large number of defence aspirants. Getting ‘fit’ in the medical boards is necessary for joining the academy so candidates are advised to get themselves checked regularly. There are two reasons for this:

1. Look at this note from UPSC notification for NDA: “The candidate shall be considered fit after 01 year of open/laparoscopic surgeries for hernia and twelve weeks of laparoscopic abdominal surgery for cholesystectomy”. If the candidate gets to know about his hernia only during the medical (after SSB) then it is almost impossible to get “fit” because of the short time available. So knowing well in advance and getting the required medical procedure done will be beneficial.
2. Also if it is a permanent issue like color blindness CP-IV, then you can prepare for other sectors rather than wasting your time aiming for something you know God hasn’t permitted.
3. Knowing you are ‘fit’ removes any dilemma you my have and helps you to focus on your studies and preparation for the army.

We will now look at the accepted medical standards for the Indian Army entries:

• Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) is the best possible vision that an eye can achieve with the use of glasses or contact lense.
• A candidate should be able to read 6/6 in a distant vision chart with each eye with or without glasses. Myopia should not be more than 3.5D and hypermetropia not more than 3.5D including Astigmatism. For women candidates the minimum acceptable visual acuity are: Distant vision (corrected)better eye 6/6 worse 6/18, Myopia of not more than minus 5.5 including Astogination.
• Candidates having LASIK are permanently ‘unfit’ for NDA Entry. However for entries after graduation like CDS, TGC, NCC etc. and other Service Entries, LASIK surgery is permitted under following conditions:
• Any candidate who has undergone any kerato-refractive procedure will have a certificate/operative notes from the medical centre where he/she has undergone the procedure, specifying the date and type of surgery.

Note: The absence of such a certificate will necessitate the Ophthalmologist to make a decision to reject the candidate with the specific endorsement of “Unfit due to undocumented Visual Acuity corrective procedure”.

• In order to be made FIT, the following criteria will have to be met:
• Age more than 20 years at the time of surgery
• Minimum 12 months post LASIK
• Central corneal thickness equal to or more than 450 µ
• Axial length by IOL Master equal to or less than 26 mm
• Residual refraction of less than or equal to +/- 1.0 D including cylinder, (provided acceptable in the category applied for).
• Normal healthy retina.
• Corneal topography and ectasia markers can also be included as addl criteria.

Also Read: Height And Weight Required For Army Navy And Air Force

Conclusion:

In notifications for the various entries, there is a note: “Candidates are advised in their own interest to undergo a preliminary medical check-up for wax in ears, DNS, defective colour vision, overweight/underweight, piles, tonsillitis and visicocle before reporting for the SSB interview”. Adhere to it and get the tests done by an experienced medical practitioner (preferably from MH/CH) in advance.

Stay connected to us, if you are preparing to join the forces as a commissioned officer.

Jai Hind