Rights of Persons with Disabilities in India

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 was India's response to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which the country ratified in 2007. It widened the recognised disabilities from 7 to 21, raised the reservation in government jobs from 3% to 4%, and built civil rights — accessibility, non-discrimination, legal capacity — into binding statute.

• Covered disabilities: Physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, and multiple disabilities — including autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, specific learning disabilities, mental illness, haemophilia, thalassaemia, sickle-cell disease, and others (21 categories).
• Disability Certificate: Required to access benefits — issued by a medical authority designated by the state government. Persons with 40%+ disability are entitled to a certificate.
• Reservation in government employment: 4% reservation in government jobs for persons with benchmark disabilities (40%+) — 1% each for blindness/low vision, deaf/hard of hearing, locomotor disability/cerebral palsy/dwarfism, and autism/intellectual disability/mental illness/multiple disabilities.
• Reservation in education: 5% seats reserved in government educational institutions for students with benchmark disabilities.
• Accessibility: All public buildings and transport systems must be made accessible — the government must set accessibility standards and all establishments must comply within a specified timeframe.
• Chief Commissioner / State Commissioner: Every state has a Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities who receives and investigates complaints under the RPWD Act.