New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, said on Tuesday that the upcoming Census 2027 is a big opportunity to recognise all 21 categories of disabilities through trained enumeration and vastly improved data collection.

Speaking at the launch of India’s first-ever handbook on disability for Parliamentarians titled ‘Beyond the Visible: A Handbook on Disability Inclusion for Parliamentarians’, prepared by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), the Union Minister noted that Census 2027 will be the first such exercise after the enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.

Athawale said the accurate and disaggregated data will enable the Union government to design far more targeted and effective interventions for persons with disabilities across the country.

The event, which also featured a panel discussion on inclusive health coverage and political participation, was attended by E.T. Mohammed Basheer, Indian Union Muslim League Lok Sabha MP and Parliamentary Member of the Central Advisory Board on Disability; Eatala Rajender, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha MP; Fauzia Khan, Nationalist Congress Party Rajya Sabha MP; Guru Prakash Paswan, BJP National Spokesperson; Neha Joshi, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Vice-President; and Anish Gawande, NCP-SP National Spokesperson.

Arman Ali, NCPEDP Executive Director, said, “The Handbook is a commitment to ensure that Parliamentarians become active partners in breaking every barrier faced by persons with disabilities. This book will help translate the RPwD Act into real legislative action and make inclusion a lived reality in Indian democracy.”

Athawale congratulated Ali, the NCPEDP team, the National Disability Network, and Bajaj Finserv CSR for this timely and practical contribution, saying that the handbook will serve as a valuable guide for Parliamentarians to strengthen inclusive policymaking across the country.

He highlighted the decisive steps taken by the Union Government under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Union Minister pointed to several flagship initiatives of Prime Minister Modi’s government, including the Accessible India Campaign, the Unique Disability ID (UDID) portal, skill development programmes under PM-DAKSH, and focused efforts under Ayushman Bharat, that are steadily mainstreaming persons with disabilities in the national development journey.

The RPwD Act, 2016, was a landmark reform that expanded recognition to 21 disabilities, shifted from a welfare-based to a rights-based approach, and aligned India with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

For the first time, the law explicitly recognised political barriers as a major obstacle for persons with disabilities.

Ali expressed concern over the current state of health coverage, noting that a recent NCPEDP survey revealed that more than 80 per cent of persons with disabilities lack any health insurance, mainly due to high premiums, exclusion of disability-related treatments, and denial of coverage.

“Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of inclusive healthcare, schemes like Ayushman Bharat must explicitly cover persons with disabilities and provide comprehensive, lifelong support including assistive devices, rehabilitation, and disability-specific care. The Union government is committed to removing these barriers so that no person with disability faces catastrophic out-of-pocket expenses,” he added.

Athawale said that the launch of the handbook and the roundtable discussion will further mainstream the discourse on disability rights and inclusive policymaking in Parliament and public life, making this event an important milestone in India’s journey towards an inclusive and Viksit Bharat.

Reaffirming the Union government’s vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas”, the Minister of State assured that every initiative will continue to ensure no citizen is left behind.

Jebi Mather, Congress Rajya Sabha MP, said: “This handbook will go a long way in sensitising us towards the language we use for differently-abled people as well as how to raise questions on during Zero Hour.”

–IANS

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