Disability in India
Disabled Population in India - Census 2011
Comparative Across NSS Reports
Disability in India
There are 26.8 million people with disabilities in India according to the 2011 census of India, while other sources have offered higher estimates. India is a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 (UNCRPD).
Legislation that affects people with disabilities in India includes:
People with disabilities in India are faced with negative social attitudes in the wider population.
The statistics on disability in India are available from two primary sources:
Census
1981 Census: 5 Categories
2001 Census: 7 Categories
2011 Census: 7 Categories
NSS by NSO, MOSPI
36th round: (July-Dec. ’81)
47th round: (July-Dec. ’91)
58th round: (July-Dec. ’02): 5 Categories
76th round: (July-Dec. ’18): 21 Categories
Source
Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) in India - A Statistical Profile : 2021, MOSPI, 2021
Disability in India, Wikipedia, 2020
Explained: How much of India’s population lives with disabilities?, The Indian Express, 2020
Persons with Disabilities in India, NSS, MOSPI, 2019
NSS report no. 583: Persons with Disabilities in India NSS 76th round (July – December 2018), MOSPI, 2019
Disabled Persons in India: Statistics: A Statistical Profile 2016, MOSPI, 2016
Disabled Population, Census of India 2001, 2001
Disabled population by type of Disability in India - Census, 2011
Though the subject of "Disability" figures in the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the Government of India has always been proactive in the disability sector.Â
It is not only running eight (developing the ninth) National Institutes (NIs) dealing with various types on disabilities and twenty Composite Regional Centers (CRCs), which provide rehabilitation services to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and run courses for rehabilitation professional but also funds a large number of NGOs for similar services and also a National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation (NHFDC) which provides loans at concession rates of interest to PwDs for self-employment.Â
The organizations under DEPwD are:
Besides, the Union Government is a party toÂ
Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and the Pacific Region: Adopted at Beijing, December, 1992
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD): Effective, May, 2008
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan): DEPwD
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment was set up in May 2012 with the aims to facilitate empowerment and inclusion of the persons with disabilities and acts as a nodal agency to look after all development agenda of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan). Empowerment of persons with disabilities is an inter-disciplinary process, covering various aspects namely, prevention, early detection, intervention, education, health, vocational training, rehabilitation and social integration. The vision, mission and strategies of the Department are as follows:
Vision: To build an inclusive society in which equal opportunities are provided for the growth and development of Persons with Disabilities so that they can lead productive, safe and dignified lives.
Mission: To empower Persons with Disabilities, through its various Acts / Institutions / Organizations and Schemes for rehabilitation and to create an enabling environment that provides such persons with equal opportunities, protection of their rights and enables them to participate as independent and productive members of society.
It was stated in the 11th Five Year Plan thatÂ
"The 'Disability Division' of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment will be strengthened by converting it into a separate Department, so that it can liaise effectively with all the other concerned Ministries/Departments and fulfill its responsibilities towards the disabled".Â
The decision to create a separate Department of Disability Affairs within the M/o SJ&E was announced on March 12, 2012 and notified on May 12, 2012.
Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (Samajik Nyaya and Adhikarita Vibhag)
Department of Disability Affairs (Nishaktata Karya Vibhag)
Since renamed as Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) (DEPwD)
See details in DEPwD page
Acts, Policies, and Department
Legislation that affects people with disabilities in India includes the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Mental Health Care Act, 2017, the National Trust Act, 1999, and the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992. People with disabilities in India are faced with negative social attitudes in the wider population.
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment was set up in May 2012 with the aims to facilitate empowerment and inclusion of the persons with disabilities and acts as a nodal agency to look after all development agenda of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan).Â
Recent National Education Policy 2020 from Ministry of Education has a lot of support for education of PwDs
History of Acts, Policies, and Department
1957: Copyright Act, 1957
1974: Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC), 1974, Ministry of Welfare
1986: During the year 1985-86, the erstwhile Ministry of Welfare was bifurcated into the Department of Women and Child Development and the Department of Welfare. Simultaneously, the Scheduled Castes Development Division, Tribal Development Division and the Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Division were moved from the Ministry of Home Affairs and also the Wakf Division from the Ministry of Law to form the then Ministry of Welfare.
1997: Inclusion of IED in DPEP & SSA
1998: The name of the Ministry of Welfare was changed to the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (M/o SJ&E) in May, 1998.Â
1999: National Trust Act, 1999Â
2000: Inclusion of IED in DPEP & SSA
2009: Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009
2009: RMSA-IEDSS
2012: Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 - benefits all persons with disabilities who cannot enjoy works in their normal format thus amongst others it would cover totally blind, low vision, learning disabled, the deaf and hard of hearing and orthopedically challenged people who are unable to hold books or turn its pages
2012: Disability received attention in various States Governments in varying degrees. At the Central level also disability being one of the several responsibilities of the M/o SJ&E, and being looked after by just one bureau, has resulted in inadequate attention, as most of its time and energy is spent only on implementing Ministry's own schemes, meeting their expenditure and physical targets, and organize annual time-bound activities like the National Awards for empowerment of PwDs. It was stated in the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) thatÂ
"The 'Disability Division' of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment will be strengthened by converting it into a separate Department, so that it can liaise effectively with all the other concerned Ministries/Departments and fulfill its responsibilities towards the disabled".Â
The decision to create a separate Department of Disability Affairs within the M/o SJ&E was announced on March 12, 2012 and notified on May 12, 2012.
Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (Samajik Nyaya and Adhikarita Vibhag)
Department of Disability Affairs (Nishaktata Karya Vibhag)
Since renamed as Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) (DEPwD)
2016: Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act 2016)
2020: National Education Policy 2020, Ministry of EducationÂ
Sources:
Integrated Education for Disabled Children, EnAbledIn, 2011Â
National Policy For Persons with Disabilities, 2006, Vikaspedia
Comments and Feedback on the Draft 12th Five-Year Plan with respect to Persons with Disabilities, Centre for Internet & Society, 2012
Inclusive Education in India, Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education, 2007
India's 11th Five-Year Plan — What about the Disabled?, NADIndia, 2006
Towards Inclusive Schools in the District Primary Education Programme, 2003
Disabled kids entitled to basic financial waivers in KV schools: Delhi HCÂ
Delhi HC has said differently-abled children are entitled to basic financial waivers including free uniforms and transportation costs at all Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) schools. The court made the observation while hearing a plea of a child, Manish Lenka, who suffers from 75% visual impairment. Lenka is a student of KV Noida, and his father is a daily wage technician.Â
History of Disability in India
Sources:
Writing histories of disability in India: strategies of inclusion, By Jane Buckingham, 2011
The History of India’s Disability Rights Movement: Tracing the hopes of India’s 26.8 million disabled population over 40 years of advocacy, By Martand Jha, 2016
Chapter 1: The History of Treatment Toward People With Disabilities in Psychosocial Aspects of Disability: Insider Perspectives and Strategies for Counselors, 2017