Disability rights groups flag gaps in proposed Census 2027 categories
Census framework leaves out several disabilities recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, say activists
Disability rights groups have expressed concerns over the proposed disability categories for the upcoming Census 2027 in India. The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) argues that the nine-category framework, which includes seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disability, mental illness, acid attack, chronic neurological disease, and blood disorder, does not adequately represent the 21 specified disabilities recognized under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.
NPRD claims that several disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disabilities, dwarfism, and multiple sclerosis, are not distinctly represented in the proposed categories. They also question the broad grouping of conditions like cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease under a single "chronic neurological disease" category.
This could lead to an undercount of specific disability groups and affect the quality of data generated by enumerators, potentially impacting policy formulation, programme design, budgetary allocations, and monitoring of government schemes for persons with disabilities.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
