Context: Recently, the government has enforced new amendments to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) rules, which aims to streamline the application process for disability certificates and Unique Disability Identity (UDID) Cards to improve accessibility and provide more efficient services for persons with disabilities.

• The Rules have been notified by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment under Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Key highlights of the amended Rules

• Application for disability certificate: Required Documents for disability certificate include proof of identity, recent photograph (not older than six months) and Aadhaar card.

• Issuance Authority: Only a medical authority or notified competent medical authority at the district level can issue disability certificates in the district of residence of the applicant as mentioned in the proof of residence.

• Processing Time: Extended from one month to three months.

• Application Lapse Clause: Applications will lapse or become "inactive" if undecided for over 2 years.

• Applicants must re-apply or contact the authority to reactivate the application.

New Colour-Coded UDID Cards:

• White: Disability below 40%.

• Yellow: Disability between 40% and 80%.

• Blue: Disability of 80% or above.

Concerns with the amended Rules

• Stating that applications can only be made through the UDID portal seems like a change aimed at reducing the number of certificates issued.

• Exclusion of Persons without Aadhaar: Especially those living in rural areas or from marginalized communities.

• Longer processing time: Extended processing time of three months may create hurdles for genuine persons with disabilities to get certified, so essential for identification, accessing services and entitlements.

• The amendments also extend the issuance period for disability certificates from one month to three months.

• “Eight years after launching the UDID scheme in 2016, only 30% of disabled persons have received their IDs. The government is delaying issuance of IDs citing various issues including lack of funds.

Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

• Definition: A person is considered to have a disability if they have a physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairment.

• Recognition of disabilities: Recognizes 21 categories of disabilities.

• Prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in all aspects of life, including employment, education, and healthcare.

Types of Disabilities

As per the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995 - A person with disability can be defined as one with one or more of disabilities falling under any of the below mentioned categories:

• Blindness:- "Blindness" refers to a condition where a person suffers from any of the following conditions namely:-

• Total absence of sight; or Visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses; or Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse;

• Cerebral Palsy:- "Cerebral Palsy" means a group of non-progressive conditions of a person characterized by abnormal motor control posture resulting from brain insult or injuries occurring in the pre-natal, peri-natal or infant period of development;

• Low vision:- " Low vision" means a person with impairment of visual functioning even after treatment of standard refractive correction but who uses or is potentially capable of using vision for the planning or execution of a task with appropriate assistive device;

• Locomotor disability:- "Locomotor disability" means disability of the bones, joints or muscles leading to substantial restriction of the movement of the limbs or nay form of cerebral palsy;

• Leprosy-cured:- "Leprosy-cured person" means person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffering from-

1. Loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity;

2. Manifest deformity and paresis but having sufficient mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity;

3. Extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevents him from undertaking and gainful occupation and the expression "Leprosy Cured" shall be construed accordingly;

• Mental retardation:- "Mental retardation" means a conditions of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person which is specially characterized by sub normality of intelligence;

• Mental illness:- "Mental illness" means any mental disorder other than Mental retardation

• Hearing Impairment:- "Hearing Impairment" means loss of sixty decibels or more in the better ear in the conversational range of frequencies