Cabinet approved Amendment to Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2014

• New definition of persons with disability ‘high support’ and ‘rehabilitation’
• Persons with disabilities to enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects
• All educational institution funded or recognized by the government to provide inclusive education.
• Ensuring reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities
• Government will identify posts in the establishment to be held by respective category of benchmark disabilities.
• The bill has a provision for increasing quota in government jobs from 3% to 5% and enables accountability in private sector and educational institutions. It also has particular focus on psycho-social disability and developmental disorders
• The legislation will replace Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995. India signed and ratified the UNCRPD in 2007 by which it was bound to modify the domestic laws and harmonize the four different legislations for the disabled.
• It also mandates local governments to provide appropriate incentives to employers in the private sector to ensure that at least 5% of their work force comprises people with disabilities. Of the additional quota 1% is for people with mental disabilities and people with multiple disabilities.
• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, provides for the constitution of a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities which will have statutory powers besides establishing a dedicated National Fund for Persons with Disabilities and broadens the ambit of disability to 19 conditions from the existing seven.
• The new Bill, if passed by the Parliament, will extend the quota by 2%, covering two new additional categories – mentally disabled and people with multiple disabilities
• The proposed legislation divides the broad categories into various sub-categories, seeking to include as many types of disabilities as possible. It includes sickle cell disease, thalassemia and muscular dystrophy besides autism, spectrum disorder, blindness, cerebral palsy, chronic neurological conditions, mental illness and multiple disabilities
• The proposed legislation is expected to bring more clarity in defining disability. Anyone suffering 40% disability or more will continue to be defined as a ‘person with disability’.
• Besides making provisions to prevent people with disabilities from harassment while getting disability certificates, the proposal legislation also provides for stringent punitive measures under which anyone violating the provisions could face from six months to five years of imprisonment and a fine from Rs 10,000 to five lakhs.