Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) today informed the Supreme Court that it plans to introduce Screen Reader Software for visually impaired candidates in the UPSC exam as soon as it has acquired proper infrastructure.

"as soon as the feasibility and availability of proper infrastructure/ software and proper testing is ensured at various Centres to conduct its Examinations in a secured manner, the Commission would conduct its Examinations for Visually Impaired candidates by providing Screen Reading Software," UPSC has said in its affidavit.

Before a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, UPSC informed that on May 9, it had orally made a statement that for introducing screen reader software, it does not require an amendment to the Common Services Examination Rules, 2025, after the Court had asked them to examine the same.

Consequent to this, on May 15, the Court was informed that there are various logistical issues in introducing such software. However, it was informed that some developments have taken place over the past few days.

As per the said development, the Commission has, in principle, decided to introduce the use of screen reader software for visually impaired candidates for various examinations conducted by the Commission. However, since the Commission does not have infrastructure, on August 7, it had requested the Coordinating Supervisioners(District Collectors, District Magistrate and Divisional Commissioners) to ensure the availability of such a facility as early as possible.

Further, UPSC has requested the Chief Secretaries of the various State Governments to ensure urgent action by the District Authorities in this regard.

USPC has also written to the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disability(NIEPVD), Dehradun, to explore the possibility of using their computer labs and regional centres to conduct examinations for visually impaired candidates.

Likewise, it has also been written to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), New Delhi, to explore the feasibility of using NIEPVD computer labs and centres. In the response received, the DEPwD has said that it's willing to upgrade these centres to serve as dedicated examination centres for the conduct of examinations for visually impaired candidates, with the caveat that the software required, protocols for conducting the exam, and accessibility of formatting question papers remain the sole responsibility of UPSC.

Case Details: MISSION ACCESSIBILITY v UNION OF INDIA AND ANR|W.P.(C) No. 206/2025

Appearances: Advocate Rahul Bajaj and Advocate on Record Sanchita Ain for Mission Accessibility and Advocate Hrishikesh Baruah for UPSC