Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS) The government will bring a new legislation to harmonise the provisions of the Persons with Disability Act with the spirit and principles of the UN Convention, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik said Thursday.
Replying to a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha on ‘Discrimination being faced by disabled citizens and the urgent need to put in place an appropriate administrative and legal framework to address their requirements’, Wasnik said his ministry has constituted a committee of experts in April to draft a new legislation.

He said the committee is expected to give its report by December. He said that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) came into force in 2008 and India was among the first countries to ratify it.

Responding to concerns of members about lack of proper data on the number of persons with disability, the minister said the issue has been taken up with the Registrar General of India. He hoped the 2011 census would reflect the real picture of people affected by disability.

He said according to the 2001 census, there were 2.19 crore people with disability in the country.

The minister said the government had simplified the process for getting a disability certificate, but 65 percent of the people were yet to get it.

Wasnik said the government has launched a special drive to fill up vacancies for those with disability.

He agreed the incentives to the private sector to give employment to persons with disability had not yielded the desired results.

He said that 10 people with disability have joined the Indian Administrative Service in the past few years.

The budget for the disability sector for 2010-2011 had seen a 73 percent increase over the outlay for 2009-10, he said. The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation has been set up to promote economic development activities and self-employment ventures for people with disability.