Visual Impairment Categories India
Looking for a simpler explanation? Read our patient guides on what 6/60, 3/60 and 1/60 vision mean or levels of visual impairment and legal blindness, in plain language.
Blindness refers to a condition where a person suffers from any of the following
a. Total absence of sight.
b. Visual acuity not exceeding 6/60* or 20/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with best correcting lenses
c. Limitation of field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse
* 6/60- means one can see at 6 metres what someone with standard vision could see from 60 metres away.
In India a person with a VA < 6/60 is legally blind
Low Vision
Person with low vision means a person with impairment of vision of less than 6/18 to 6/60 with best correction in the better eye or impairment of field in any one of the following categories:
a. Reduction of fields less than 50 degrees
b. Heminaopia with macular involvement
c. Altitudinal defect involving lower fields
Normal vision
20/20 is considered normal vision.
| Categories of Visual Impairment | ||||
| CATEGORY | Corrected VA-Better Eye |
WHO Definition | Working | Indian Definition |
| 0 | 6/6-6/18 | Normal | Normal | Normal |
| 1 | <6/18- 6/60 | Visual Impairment | Low Vision | Low Vision |
| 2 | <6/60- 3/60 | Severe Visual Impairment | Low Vision | Blind |
| 3 | <3/60- 1/60 | Blind | Low Vision | Blind |
| 4 | <1/60- PL | Blind | Low Vision | Blind |
| 5 | NPL | Blind | Total Blindness | Total Blindness |
| Categories of Visual Correction | ||||
| CATEGORY | Better Eye | Worse Eye | % Age Impairment | |
| Category 0 | 6/9-6/18 | 6/24 to 6/36 | 20% | |
| Category I | 6/18-6/36 | 6/20 to Nil | 40% | |
| Category II | 6/40-4/60 or field of vision 10o-20o | 3/60 to Nil | 75% | |
| Category III | 3/60 to 1/60 or field of vision 10o | F.C. at 1 ft. to Nil | 100% | |
| Category IV | F.C. at 1 ft. to Nil or field of vision 10o | F.C. at ft. to Nil | 100% | |
| One eyed person | F.C. at 1 ft. to Nil or field of vision 10o | 6/6 | 30% | |
|
F.C. means Finger Count. |
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