{
  "id": 1928406,
  "title": "Disability rights groups flag gaps in proposed Census 2027 categories",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/disability-rights-groups-flag-gaps-in-proposed-census-2027-categories",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-19T12:07:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/disability-rights-groups-flag-gaps-in-proposed-census-2027-categories/article71364696.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}