Prelims – Current events of national and international relations | Governance
Why in news?
Disability rights groups have raised concerns that Census 2027 proposes only 9 broad disability categories, instead of all 21 disabilities recognised under RPwD Act, 2016.
- The groups argue that broad categories may result in under-reporting and lack of disaggregated data.
- Disability Enumeration in Census 2027 – 9 proposed broad categories
- Seeing
- Hearing
- Speech
- Mobility
- Intellectual disabilities
- Mental illness
- Disability due to acid attack
- Disability due to chronic neurological disease
- Disability due to blood disorder
- The questionnaire reportedly allows respondents to record up to 3 disabilities, in order of severity.
- Census 2011 vs Census 2027
|
Census
|
Disability Categories
|
Key Point
|
|
2011
|
7
|
Recorded 2.68 crore PwDs (2.21%)
|
|
2027
|
9
|
broad categories Includes acid attack, chronic neurological disease and blood disorder as new broad categories
|
RPwD Act, 2016
- Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 replaced the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.
- Expanded recognised disabilities from 7 to 21.
- Reflects a more dynamic and evolving understanding of disability.
- Added categories such as:
- Speech and language disability
- Specific learning disability
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Dwarfism
- Multiple disabilities
- Acid attack victims
- Blood disorders, etc.
Major Concern Raised by Rights Groups
- Specific disabilities may get clubbed under broad categories.
- Examples –
- Thalassemia, haemophilia and sickle-cell disease as “blood disorder”
- Conditions such as autism, specific learning disabilities, dwarfism and deaf blindness may not be distinctly captured.
- Implications –
- Evidence-based policymaking
- Targeted welfare programmes
- Budgetary allocation
- Programme design
- Accountability
Reference
The Indian Express| 9 disability categories in Census 2027 form
