Indian Air Force Agniveer Vayu applications go through the CASB portal at agnipathvayu.cdac.in, and just like Navy Agniveer, it comes with a requirement most candidates aren't expecting — you have to be photographed holding a black slate with your name and the photo date written on it in chalk. It's easy to spend time perfecting the file size and still get tripped up by this one detail.
Here's exactly what the official portal asks for, straight from its own upload instructions, so your photo and signature don't get bounced back during registration or flagged later during document verification.
Photo Size Requirements
Per the official agnipathvayu.cdac.in upload instructions, your passport-size color photo must have a file size between 10KB and 50KB and be saved as JPEG/JPG. The portal doesn't publish a fixed pixel dimension, but the photo has to be a recent, un-attested, passport-size image taken within the last three months, with a light background and no headgear except for Sikh candidates. Just like Navy Agniveer, you're required to be photographed holding a black slate in front of your chest, with your name and the date the photo was taken written on it in white chalk in capital letters — a distinctive rule that sets the Air Force form apart from most other exam applications. Because no exact pixel size is published, aim for a standard passport-photo aspect ratio and let the KB range guide your compression, rather than guessing at dimensions.
Signature Size Requirements
Your signature also needs to fall between 10KB and 50KB in file size, saved as JPEG/JPG. Sign on plain white paper in a clear, unbroken stroke, scan it properly, and upload it without cropping or rotating the image. Avoid taking the photo of your signature at an angle, since that can distort the proportions when the system auto-crops it.
Common Mistakes That Get Applications Rejected
Almost every rejected Agniveer Vayu photo comes down to the same issue: no black slate in the shot, or a slate with writing that's too small or blurry to read clearly. Beyond that, applicants commonly upload photos taken before the notified cut-off date, wear headgear or sunglasses, exceed the 50KB limit, or submit a signature scan that's too dark or too light to read after compression. Uploading a PNG or a screenshot instead of a proper JPEG scan is another easy mistake to avoid, and so is cropping the slate out of frame while trying to zoom in on the face.
How to Resize Your Photo and Signature in 30 Seconds
Once your slate photo and signature are ready, you can use SignResizer, a free online tool that compresses and resizes both to fit the CASB portal's exact KB limits in seconds, with no signup needed.