The Draft National Policy on Disability

Recently, the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has invited public feedback on the new draft National Policy on Persons With Disabilities (PwD).

• India is a party to the ‘Incheon Strategy for Asia Pacific Decade for PwD: 2013-2022’ prepared under the aegis of UNESCAP which identifies 10 goals for the Asia-Pacific countries to ensure inclusion and empowerment of PwD.

Provisions of the Draft Policy: According to the draft, current national programme on prevention of disabilities by Health Ministry focuses on “traditional causes”. But there are other causes of disability, including malnourishment, socio-cultural factors, medical negligence, and impairment caused by disasters.

• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 also increased the number of disabilities from 7 to 21.
• Policy called for a comprehensive national programme on prevention of disabilities and other medical conditions that could manifest as a disability.
• According to the draft, one-third of most disabilities in children were preventable, if detected timely and early.
• The draft policy also said the States and Union Territories should add a provision on compliance with the RPD Act when granting permission or recognition to educational institutions.
• Disability module should also be included in MBBS and other medical courses.