The document discusses special provisions for persons with benchmark disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD) 2016 in India. Some key points: 1. The RPWD Act aims to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities in India in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 2. The Act covers 21 categories of disabilities and defines persons with benchmark disabilities as those with 40% or more impairment in designated disabilities. 3. Special provisions for persons with benchmark disabilities include free education until age 18, 5% reservation in higher education institutions, identification of reserved posts in government for employment, and other accessibility measures.

1. Special provisions for persons
with benchmark disabilities under
RPWD Act 2016
MOUMITA BISWAS
LE CTURER SPECIAL EDUCATION
NIEPID RC KOLKATA

2. BACKGROUND
• The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank published the first-
ever world report on disability, which stated that one billion people, or 15% of
the world's population, experience some form of disability. Discrimination and
stigmatization of people with disabilities have persisted throughout history, and it
continues to prevail in the present civilized world also
• CRPD is an International Human Rights Treaty of the United Nations intended to
protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. It was adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly on December 13, 2006.The Preamble of the
United Nations CRPD (UNCRPD) acknowledges that “disability” is an evolving,
dynamic and complex phenomenon. Generally, disability results from an
• This convention makes a paradigm shift from “charity” based approach to
“rights”-based approach for persons with disability, thus marking the dawn of the
new era. The UNCRPD mandated its signatories to change the existing laws in
order to bring them in conformity with the principles of this Convention.
• India is a signatory to the said Convention in 2007; • so it is considered
necessary to implement the Convention principles and change the
existing laws.

3. Provision of UNCRPD 2006
• Principles for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities :-
• a) respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the
freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of
persons;
• (b) non-discrimination;
• (c) full and effective participation and inclusion in society;

4. Provision of UNCRPD 2006
• (d)respect for difference and acceptance of persons with
disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity;
• (e) equality of opportunity;
• (f) accessibility;
• (g) equality between men and women;
• (h) respect for the evolving capacities of children with
disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities
to preserve their identities;

5. RPWD ACT 2016
• India is home to million people with disabilities. To this will add
another 90 million aging population of the country yet disability
remains an ‘Invisible Minority’ Seen thus far as a medical issue not a
human rights/ development issue.
• Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 is a milestone in
struggle for equal opportunities for disabled people in India.
• This act was passed to fulfill India’s obligation to UNCRPD.
• Draft Bill of this Act was created in 2011
• The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 14 December 2016 and
by Lok Sabha on 17 December 2016
• Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 came into effect on 30
December 2016
• It replaced the Persons with Disability (P.w.D.) Act that was enacted
way back in 1995

6. Aims..
• The preamble of this act clearly states that it aims to uphold the
dignity of every Person with Disability (PwD) in the society and
prevent any form of discrimination.
• The act also facilitates full acceptance of people with disability and
ensures full participation and inclusion of such persons in the society.
• The act contains 17 chapters with 102 sections.
• It defines PwD as any person with long-term physical, mental,
intellectual, or sensory impairments which on interacting with barriers
hinder effective and equal growth in the society. Further, it also
defines “Person with Benchmark Disability” as a person with not
<40% of specified disability.

7. The salient features of the Act are:-
• The RPwD Act, 2016 was enacted on 28.12.2016 which came into force from
19.04.2017. The salient features of the Act are:-
1.Responsibility has been cast upon the appropriate governments to take
effective measures to ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy their
rights equally with others.
2.Disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept.
3.The Act covers the following specified disabilities:-
1. Physical Disability
A. Locomotor Disability
1. Leprosy Cured Person
2. Cerebral Palsy
3. Dwarfism
4. Muscular Dystrophy
5. Acid Attack Victims

8. Types of disabilities covered….
b. Visual Impairment
1.Blindness
2.Low Vision.
c. Hearing Impairment
1.Deaf
2.Hard of Hearing
d. Speech and Language
Disability
2. Intellectual Disability
a. Specific Learning Disabilities
b. Autism Spectrum Disorder
3. Mental Behaviour (Mental
Illness)
4. Disability caused due to-
a. Chronic Neurological
Conditions such as-
1.Multiple Sclerosis
2.Parkinson’s Disease
b. Blood Disorder-
1.Haemophilia
2.Thalassemia
3.Sickle Cell Disease
5. Multiple Disabilities

9. salient features
4.Additional benefits have been provided for persons with benchmark
disabilities and those with high support needs.
5.Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18
years shall have the right to free education.
6.5% reservation in seats in Government and Government aided higher
educational institutions for persons with benchmark disabilities.
7.Stress has been given to ensure accessibility in public buildings (both
Government and private) in a prescribed time-frame.
8.4% reservation in Government jobs for certain persons or class of persons
with benchmark disability.
9.The Act provides for grant of guardianship by District Court or any authority
designated by the State Government under which there will be joint
decision – making between the guardian and the persons with disabilities.

10. salient features
10.Broad based Central & State Advisory Boards on Disability to be set up as
policy making bodies.
11.The Act provides for strengthening of the Office of Chief Commissioner of
Persons with Disabilities and State Commissioners of Disabilities which will
act as regulatory bodies and Grievance Redressal agencies and also monitor
implementation of the Act. These Offices will be assisted by an Advisory
Committee comprising of experts in various disabilities.
12.Creation of National and State Fund to provide financial support to the
persons with disabilities.
13.The Act provides for penalties for offences committed against persons with
disabilities.
14.Designated special Courts to handle cases concerning violation of rights of
PwDs.

11. path breaking achievement
• Apart from covering 21 categories of disabilities from the previous 7
categories under the 1995 Act, this new Act lays complete emphasis on
one’s rights – right to equality and opportunity, right to inherit and own
property, right to home and family and reproductive rights among others.
• Unlike the 1995 Act, the new Act talks about accessibility - setting a two-
year deadline for the government to ensure that persons with disabilities
get barrier-free access to physical infrastructure and transport systems.
• Additionally, it will also hold the private sector accountable. This also
includes educational institutions ‘recognized’ by the government such as
privately owned universities and colleges.
• A path-breaking feature of the new Act is the increase in reservation in
government jobs from 3% to 4%
• With the new law, the Indian disability movement has been catapulted
onto the next level. This has ushered us into the next stage of disability
rights.

15. CHAPTER VI : SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR PERSONS
WITH BENCHMARK DISABILITES
• Salient Features: • This chapter focuses on the special provisions for
people with Benchmark Disabilities.
• • Children with Benchmark Disabilities have the right to free education till
the age of 18 years.
• • Seats have to be reserved for persons with Benchmark Disabilities in
institutions for higher education and Government jobs.
• • The chapter also lays down the manner in which the vacancies reserved
for persons with disabilities have to be filled.
• • Employers in the private sector should be given incentives to encourage
them to employ persons with disabilities.
• • Establishments are required to file returns to employment exchanges
about the vacancies created for persons with disabilities.

16. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
• Article 24 of UNCRPD The United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities provides that in addition to formal education state
parties must facilitate the learning of Braille, alternative script,
augmentative and alternative modes of communication and orientation
and mobility skills and facilitating peer support and mentoring.
• 31. Free education for children with benchmark disabilities.—
• (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Rights of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (35 of 2009), every child with
benchmark disability between the age of six to eighteen years shall have
the right to free education in a neighborhood school, or in a special school,
of his choice.
• (2) The appropriate Government and local authorities shall ensure that
every child with benchmark disability has access to free education in an
appropriate environment till he attains the age of eighteen years.

17. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
• 32. Reservation in higher educational institutions.—
• (1) All Government institutions of higher education and
other higher education institutions receiving aid from the
Government shall reserve not less than five per cent. seats
for persons with benchmark disabilities.
• (2) The persons with benchmark disabilities shall be given an
upper age relaxation of five years for admission in
institutions of higher education.

18. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
• 33. Identification of posts for reservation.—The appropriate
Government shall—
• (i) identify posts in the establishments which can be held by
respective category of persons with benchmark disabilities in respect
of the vacancies reserved in accordance with the provisions of section
34;
• (ii) constitute an expert committee with representation of persons
with benchmark disabilities for identification of such posts; and
• (iii) undertake periodic review of the identified posts at an interval
not exceeding three years.

19. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
3. Reservation.—(1) Every appropriate Government shall appoint in every Government
establishment, not less than four per cent. of the total number of vacancies in the cadre
strength in each group of posts meant to be filled with persons with benchmark disabilities of
which, one per cent. each shall be reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities under
clauses (a), (b) and (c) and one per cent. for persons with benchmark disabilities under clauses
(d) and (e), namely:—
(a) blindness and low vision;
(b) deaf and hard of hearing;
(c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims
and muscular dystrophy;
(d) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness;
(e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d) including deaf-
blindness in the posts identified for each disabilities:
• Provided that the reservation in promotion shall be in accordance with such instructions as are
issued by the appropriate Government from time to time:
• Provided further that the appropriate Government, in consultation with the Chief Commissioner or
the State Commissioner, as the case may be, may, having regard to the type of work carried out in
any Government establishment, by notification and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be
specified in such notifications exempt any Government establishment from the provisions of this
section.

20. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
(2) Where in any recruitment year any vacancy cannot be filled up due to non-
availability of a suitable person with benchmark disability or for any other
sufficient reasons, such vacancy shall be carried forward in the succeeding
recruitment year and if in the succeeding recruitment year also suitable person
with benchmark disability is not available, it may first be filled by interchange
among the five categories and only when there is no person with disability
available for the post in that year, the employer shall fill up the vacancy by
appointment of a person, other than a person with disability:
• Provided that if the nature of vacancies in an establishment is such that a given
category of person cannot be employed, the vacancies may be interchanged
among the five categories with the prior approval of the appropriate Government.
The appropriate Government may, by notification, provide for such relaxation of
upper age limit for employment of persons with benchmark disability, as it thinks
fit.

22. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
• 35. Incentives to employers in private sector.—
• The appropriate Government and the local authorities shall, within the
limit of their economic capacity and development, provide incentives to
employer in private sector to ensure that at least five per cent. of their
work force is composed of persons with benchmark disability.
• 36. Special employment exchange.—
• The appropriate Government may, by notification, require that from such
date, the employer in every establishment shall furnish such information
or return as may be prescribed by the Central Government in relation to
vacancies appointed for persons with benchmark disability that have
occurred or are about to occur in that establishment to such special
employment exchange as may be notified by the Central Government and
the establishment shall thereupon comply with such requisition.

23. SPECIAL PROVISIONS
• 37. Special schemes and development programmes.—
• The appropriate Government and the local authorities shall, by
notification, make schemes in favour of persons with benchmark
disabilities, to provide,—
• (a) five per cent. reservation in allotment of agricultural land and
housing in all relevant schemes and development programmes, with
appropriate priority to women with benchmark disabilities;
• (b) five per cent. reservation in all poverty alleviation and various
developmental schemes with priority to women with benchmark
disabilities;
• (c) five per cent. reservation in allotment of land on concessional
rate, where such land is to be used for the purpose of promoting
housing, shelter, setting up of occupation, business, enterprise,
recreation centres and production centres.

25. SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
WITH HIGH SUPPORT NEEDS
• Salient Features:
• This chapter highlights the process by which persons with Benchmark
Disabilities who need High Support may apply to an authority for
seeking such support.
• This chapter also highlights the rights of persons with Benchmark
Disabilities who have High Support needs.
The term High Support means an intensive support, physical,
psychological and otherwise, which may be required by a person with
Benchmark Disability for daily activities, to take independent and
informed decision to access facilities and participating in all areas of life
including education, employment, family and community life and
treatment and therapy.

26. Special provisions for persons with disabilities with
high support.—
• 1) Any person with benchmark disability, who considers himself to be in need
of high support, or any person or organisation on his or her behalf, may apply
to an authority, to be notified by the appropriate Government, requesting to
provide high support.
• (2) On receipt of an application under sub-section (1), the authority shall
refer it to an Assessment Board consisting of such Members as may be
prescribed by the Central Government.
• (3) The Assessment Board shall assess the case referred to it under sub-
section (1) in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government,
and shall send a report to the authority certifying the need of high support and
its nature.
• (4) On receipt of a report under sub-section (3), the authority shall take steps
to provide support in accordance with the report and subject to relevant
schemes and orders of the appropriate Government in this behalf.

27. Process…

28. Challenges to overcome…..
• In India, majority of the millions of people with disabilities, for whom this law
is intended live in the small towns and villages. It would not be a far fetched
idea to say that a significant section of them are not even aware of this new
law. Even for those who are, the highly technical language of the legislation is
more often than not difficult to comprehend. An ordinary person with
disability is perhaps only concerned about knowing about her/his rights and
entitlements, and how and where to avail them.
• One of the major concern is the vague language of the Act especially in
the sections pertaining to discrimination and guardianship.
• Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 is a good beginning. But
the rights of P.w.D. will be protected only if this Act will be implemented
in its true spirit. Entire government machinery and the society at large
will have to be sensitized towards the needs and equality of P.w.D.
Equal opportunity for all can not be achieved only by passing a law. The
entire society has to participate in creating such opportunities.

29. Challenges to overcome…..
• At an objective level, the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 and the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD) Act 2016 have helped create a
comprehensive legal framework for inclusive education. However, there are a few
ambiguities about where children with disabilities (CWDs) should study and who
should teach them. Inclusive education falls under the ambit of the ministry of
HRD while special schools are governed by the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment with no benchmarks for quality of education. That’s why the recent
UNESCO Report on Education 2019 clearly states three-fourths of the children
with disabilities at the age of five years and one-fourth between 5-19 years do not
go to any educational institution.
• The RPWD Act also mandates reasonable modifications in curriculum as per
individual needs of children with disabilities. Yet, absence of appropriate norms
and standards applicable to all educational institutions, services provided to
CWDs, and the absence of a coordinated authority to enforce the norms and
standards remains a gap.
• Furthermore, though the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) and the
Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) are taking measures to prepare teachers for
inclusive education, there is a need for continued investment and flexible
planning to address emerging issues and gaps in trained human resources. In

30. Challenges to overcome…..
• Less than 1% of employees in corporate India are persons with
disabilities. That’s partly because accessibility, the backbone of
inclusion of persons with disabilities, is not available in India.
• The list is long; accessibility of infrastructure, transport, reading
materials, information (websites, apps etc), products and services
have to be in accessible forms as detailed under the RPwD Act
and its corresponding Rules. Persons with disabilities have no
access to even job vacancy announcements.
• Uneven access to buildings inaccessible medical equipment, poor
signage, narrow doorways, internal steps, inadequate bathroom
facilities, and inaccessible parking areas create barriers for
employment, entertainment, sports and even basic desires like
visiting a relative or watching a play.

31. Challenges to overcome…..
• Exclusions from insurance coverage coupled with high costs of treatment
create a vicious circle of poverty that is difficult to break for PwDs.
• Guardianship for persons with intellectual disabilities also continues to be
a challenge. Women with disabilities are denied their rights to sexual and
reproductive health receiving little counselling or medical support.
• There is a need to integrate disability education into the training of all
healthcare professionals. We must train community workers so that they
can play a role in preventive healthcare services.
• Today, as the country grapples with the fallout of the COVID19 we find
that people with disabilities have been excluded once again. Despite the
best guidelines and statutes - they remain worthless bit of paper unless
implemented with seriousness and integrity. Our slogan, ‘Leave No One
Behind’ remains relevant given the slow progress that has happened and
equally important is the slogan - nothing about us without us. Solutions
for people with disabilities cannot be designed by those who have nether
the lived experience nor any understanding of specific needs that a PwD
has.