Aims and Objectives
- Align domestic law with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
- Expand the legally recognised categories of disability from 7 under the 1995 Act to 21.
- Strengthen access, education, and employment rights for persons with disabilities.
Important Provisions
- Expanded Disability List: Recognises 21 disabilities, up from 7 under the 1995 Act, including conditions such as Parkinson's disease and specific learning disabilities.
- Employment Reservation: Section 34 mandates a minimum 4% reservation in government establishments for persons with benchmark disabilities.
- Education Reservation: Mandates at least 5% reservation in higher education institutions.
- Special Courts: Provides for designated special courts in each district to try offences against persons with disabilities.
- Accessibility Mandate: Requires public buildings to be made accessible within a prescribed time frame.
- Limited Guardianship: Introduces limited guardianship for persons with disabilities requiring high support.
Significance
- Rights-Based Shift: Moves India's disability law from a welfare-based approach to a rights-based one, aligned with the UNCRPD.
- Wider Coverage: The near-threefold expansion in recognised disabilities extends legal protection to far more citizens than the 1995 Act did.