Persons with Disabilities
Two departments were created under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment vide notification dated 12.5.2012, namely:-
- Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (Samajik Nyaya aur Adhikarita Vibhag)
- Department of Disability Affairs (Nishaktata Karya Vibhag)
Though the subject of “Disability” figures in the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, The Government of India has always been proactive in the disability sector. It is not only running seven National Institutes (NIs) dealing with various types on disabilities and seven Composite Regional Centers (CRCs), which provide rehabilitation services to PwDs and run courses for rehabilitation professional but also funds a large number of NGOs for similar services and also a National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation (NHFDC) which provides loans at concessional rates of interest to PwDs for self-employment. Besides, the Union Government is a party to Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and the Pacific Region – adopted at Beijing in December, 1992, and The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which came into effect in May, 2008