Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act 2016) was enacted under the Article 253 of the Constitution of India read with item No. 13 of the Union List. India has been in a great need of such an Act as there was no comprehensive law that could define and implement rights of the persons with disabilities in the country. In Hindi it is known as Divyangjan Adhikaar Kanoon 2016 (Hindi) (दिव्यांगजन अधिकार अधिनियम 2016 (हिन्दी))

• This act was passed to fulfill India’s obligation to UNCRPD.

• Draft Bill of this Act was created in 2011

• The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 14 December 2016 and by Lok Sabha on 17 December 2016

• Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 came into effect on 30 December 2016

• It replaced the Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PwD Act 1995)

This Act is considered to be comprehensive and it aims to provide equal opportunities to Persons with Disabilities (or Divyangjan - दिव्यांगजन as the disabled people are now called) in India.

Salient features

• According to the Act any person who intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a person with a disability in any place within public view is punishable with imprisonment.

• To increase the job opportunities of persons with disabilities, the Act has increased the reservation quota from 3% to 4%. This means that 4% of all vacancies in the government organizations will be reserved for disabled people.

• Another very important feature of this Act is the provision of special courts in each district. 

• This act proposes that every child with disability gets free education from the age of 6 to 18.

• State Governments will constitute district-level committees to address the local issues of PwD.

• Office of Chief Commissioner and the Office of State Commissioners of Persons with Disabilities have been given more powers.

• Broad-based Central & State Advisory Boards on Disability are to be set up to serve as apex policy-making bodies at the Central and State level.

• Victims of acid attacks have been included in the list of PwD. 

• Dwarfism and Muscular Dystrophy have also been included as separate categories of disability.

• Three blood disorders, Thalassemia, Hemophilia and Sickle Cell disease, have been included in the list of disabilities.

• Number of types of disabilities have been increased from 7 to 21: (*-ed ones are covered here)

  1. Blindness*

  2. Low Vision*

  3. Leprosy Cured Persons

  4. Hearing Impairment (Deaf and Hard of Hearing- DHH)*

  5. Locomotor Disability*

  6. Dwarfism

  7. Intellectual Disability*

  8. Mental Illness

  9. Autism Spectrum Disorder*

  10. Cerebral Palsy

  11. Muscular Dystrophy

  12. Chronic Neurological Conditions

  13. Specific Learning Disabilities*

  14. Multiple Sclerosis

  15. Speech and Language Disability*

  16. Thalassemia

  17. Hemophilia

  18. Sickle Cell Disease

  19. Multiple Disabilities including Deaf-blindness*

  20. Acid Attack Victims

  21. Parkinson’s Disease

• National and State Fund will be created to provide financial support to the persons with disabilities.

• Emphasis has been given to ensure accessibility in public buildings (both government and private) within a prescribed time-frame.

SwavlambanCard or UDID Card

So far the various state governments have been issuing disability certificates to disabled people so that they can avail of the benefits provided but the government. There has not been a defined form of disability certificate. Different states provided different types of certificates and each state kept its own record of certificates issued by it. Mostly such records were kept in paper form or in incompatible computer systems. As a result it was difficult to access, share or collate such information. UDID now offers the following advantages:

• Application for UDID card can be submitted online. So, it will make life easier for PWDs.

• The UDID Card holder will no longer need to carry lengthy documents as proof of her disability. UDID Card will be acceptable everywhere to prove one’s disability condition.

• “At present the disability certificates of one state are not recognized in the other. The universal cards would help the differently-abled tide over these problems that they face at railway counters or even to avail any benefit at educational institutions. The card would have a unique number which if fed on the website would help an authority access all details.”, said Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Joint Secretary (DePwD).

• The card will be of standard credit card size. It will easily fit in one’s wallet.

• UDID Card will have all the relevant details related with the person and her disability. This information can be easily read with a card reader device.

• Real time data about the disabled persons will be available to the government to act upon.

• Disability related data will not get duplicated as the computer system can ensure uniqueness of all the data related with disabled individuals.

• System can be easily upgraded if more disability conditions get recognized by the government.

• It would be easy to identify the extent of person’s disability. A person with less than 40% disability would have a card with a white stripe, 40 to 80% would have a card with yellow stripe and above 80% card with a blue stripe.

• UDID Card will help government to track a number of aspects. For example:

  • Whether benefits of welfare schemes are reaching to the disabled persons.

  • How the beneficiaries are getting benefited.

  • If schemes are contributing to the progress of UDID card holders etc.

Benefits Available with the Disability Certificate or UDID Card

With disability certificate, the government has attached a number of benefits and facilities. These benefits vary from state to state and also according to the type and extent of disability. Following are some of the general facilities that a disability certificate holder can avail. If you want to get any of these benefits, we advise you to get more specific information:

• Scholarship schemes for students with disabilities

• Concession in railway fare

• Rebate in income tax

• Reservation in government jobs

• Free travel in state transport buses

• Loan for starting own business

• Subsidized prosthetic aids and assistive devices (like wheelchairs)

• Group insurance for government employees with disabilities

• Unemployment allowance to educated disabled persons

• Incentive for eye donors

• Subsidy in buying adapted vehicles

• Toll concession with free Fastag

Criteria for Getting Disability Certificate

Any person suffering with disabilities is eligible to apply for a disability certificate. However, when the medical board does disability evaluation — the certificate is issued only to those who fulfill any of the following criteria:

• Person must have minimum 35% mental handicap or disability

• Person must have an orthopedic disability of minimum 40%

• In case of deaf people the disability percentage must be between 90 db & 100 db

• Visual impairment has to be more than 90%

Common Terms in RPWD Act 2016

The following terms are frequently used in the Act (and hence in the general parlance of disability in India) with stated notions:

• Impairment: Missing or defective body part, an amputated limb, paralysis after polio, restricted pulmonary capacity, diabetes, nearsightedness, mental retardation, limited hearing capacity, facial disfigurement or other abnormal condition.

• Disabilities: As a result of impairment may involve difficulties in walking, seeing, speaking, hearing, reading, writing, counting, lifting, or taking interest in and making one’s surrounding.

  • Temporary Total Disability: 

Period in which the affected person is totally unable to work. During this period, he may receive orthopedic, ophthalmological, auditory or speech any other medical treatment.

• • Temporary partial Disability: 

Period when recovery has reached the stage of improvement so that person may began some kind of gainful occupation.

• • Permanent Disability: 

Permanent damage or loss of use of some part/parts of the body after the stage of maximum improvement [from any medical treatment] has been reached and the condition is stationary.

• Handicap: A disability becomes a handicap when it interferes with doing what is expected at a particular time in one’s life.

• Rehabilitation: Refers to a process aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels

• Person with Disability: A person suffering from not less than 40% of any disability as certified by a medical authority.

• Institution for persons with disabilities: An institution for the reception, care, protection, with disabilities education, training, rehabilitation or any other service of persons

Acts:

• Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act 2016)

• दिव्यांगजन अधिकार अधिनियम 2016 (हिन्दी)

• Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PwD Act 1995)

Sources:

• Types of Disabilities, Vikaspedia, 2021

• Unique Disability ID: Training Manual, Swavlambam Card

• List of Disabilities Covered Under Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act), WeCapable, 2018

• Disability Certificate: All You Need to Know, 2018

• RPWD Act 2016: Summary and Overview [with Infographics], WeCapable, 2017

• Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016: Important Points and PDF, WeCapable, 2017

• THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2016