RCI Act, 1992

Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) Act, 1992

This act came into being to regulate the training of rehabilitation professionals and to maintain a Central Rehabilitation Register to certify rehabilitation professionals. Thus by this act, the Rehabilitation Council of India has become the apex body to further professional development of those in the field of disability rehabilitation.

According to this act, the term "rehabilitation professionals" refers to:

  • Audiologists and speech therapists

  • Clinical psychologists

  • Hearing aid and ear mould technicians

  • Special educators

  • Vocational counselors, employment officers and placement officers working with persons with disability

  • Multi-purpose rehabilitation therapists, technicians or

  • Other categories of professionals that the Central government may include in consultation with the Council

The main aims of the Rehabilitation Council of India are:

  • To regulate training policies and programs in the field of disability rehabilitation.

  • To standardize training courses for professionals working with people with disabilities.

  • To prescribe minimum standards of education and training of various categories of professionals working with people with disabilities.

  • To recognize institutions/universities running degree/diploma/certificate courses in the field of disability rehabilitation.

  • To recognize foreign degree/diploma/certificates awarded by universities/institutions on a reciprocal basis.

  • To maintain a Central Rehabilitation Register of Institutions possessing the recognized rehabilitation qualification.


Source: Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992, PACER

The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) is the apex government body, set up under an Act of Parliament, to regulate training programmes and courses targeted at disabled, disadvantaged, and special education requirement communities. It is the only statutory council in India that is required to maintain the Central Rehabilitation Register which mainly documents details of all qualified professionals who operate and deliver training and educational programmes for the targeted communities.

In the year 2000, the Rehabilitation Council of India (Amendment) Act, 2000, was introduced and notified consequently by the government of India. The amendment brought definitions and discussions provided within the earlier Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992, under the ambit of a larger act, namely, Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.