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9 Broad Categories Proposed for Census 2027 Disability Enumeration
Disability rights groups raise concerns that Census 2027 proposes only 9 broad disability categories instead of all 21 disabilities recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. The groups state that broad categories may lead to under-reporting and lack of disaggregated disability data.
Disability Enumeration in Census 2027:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Proposed disability categories | Comprises 9 broad categories: seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disabilities, mental illness, disability due to acid attack, disability due to chronic neurological disease, and disability due to blood disorder. |
| Questionnaire provision | Provides for recording up to 3 disabilities per respondent, in order of severity. |
| Census 2011 disability categories and count | Records 7 disability categories and 2.68 crore persons with disabilities, constituting 2.21%. |
| Census 2027 compared to 2011 | Comprises 9 broad categories, including acid attack, chronic neurological disease, and blood disorder as new broad categories. |
| RPwD Act, 2016 status | Provides for replacing the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. |
| RPwD Act, 2016 recognised disabilities | Mandates expansion of recognised disabilities from 7 to 21. |
| RPwD Act, 2016 examples of added categories | Comprises added categories such as speech and language disability, specific learning disability, autism spectrum disorder, dwarfism, multiple disabilities, acid attack victims, and blood disorders. |
| Concern raised by rights groups | States that specific disabilities may get clubbed under broad categories, resulting in under-reporting and lack of disaggregated data. |
| Examples of possible clubbing under “blood disorder” | Comprises examples such as thalassemia, haemophilia, and sickle-cell disease being recorded as “blood disorder”. |
| Conditions stated as not distinctly captured | Comprises conditions such as autism, specific learning disabilities, dwarfism, and deaf blindness. |
| Stated implications of lack of disaggregated data | Regulates evidence-based policymaking, targeted welfare programmes, budgetary allocation, programme design, and accountability. |