The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment released a draft notification on 29 July proposing an amendment to disability certification as laid down in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules 2017.
The amendment comes after former trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar was exposed for misusing the disability quota to enter the civil services. Over the last month, the disability rights movement has faced a huge backlash, with some civil servants, including Smita Sabharwal from the Telangana Cadre, talking about the need to remove the quota altogether.
We in the disability community are all for increased transparency and stricter regulations to ensure that persons who are faking disabilities do not take away benefits meant for the disabled.
Colour coding, welfare schemes
As per the amended rules, only medical authorities can issue a Unique Disability Identification (UDID) card. This removes ‘other notified, competent authorities’ like blind schools and hospitals from the equation, which have historically had good infrastructure to assess a person’s disability. It is important to note that Khedkar was also certified by multiple medical authorities as defined in the RPwD Act.
Another significant change is the introduction of colour coding in UDID cards with white signifying below 40 per cent disability, yellow meaning 40 per cent to 80 per cent disability, and blue cards signifying above 80 per cent disability.
While the government proposes to amend how one acquires a UDID card, now is the opportunity to explore what the card means—what it can do, how can one obtain it, and whether there are any alternatives.
Governments issue two kinds of IDs. The first is foundational IDs, like an Aadhaar card, which are almost like proof of a person’s existence.
The second kind of ID is a functional one. For example, a PAN is for income, a driving license is for driving, and a passport is for international travel. UDID comes under this category.
In the wake of the new rules being proposed, the chief architect of Aadhaar and co-chair of the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure, Dr Pramod Varma, said we need to change how we look at UDID. “It’s not about yet another difficult-to-obtain ID card, it should be about levels of attestations that a person can obtain- from self-declaring to societal attestations to more authority-driven ones. We must not assume one size fits all and must allow differentiated digitally verifiable attestations that can be accepted for variety of both public and private sector use cases. Applying DPI (digital public infrastructure) thinking to design this and leveraging Aadhaar and Digilocker is essential,” he said.
Let us not forget that DPI has enabled India to do the unthinkable—financial inclusion of more than 80 per cent of the country’s population by using UPI.
The UDID card should be more than just a government certificate for accessing benefits. People with Disabilities (PwDs) need not only quotas in government colleges and jobs but also opportunities to contribute to the country’s economy.
If the government decides to go ahead with colour coding, it should be based on the level of accreditation instead of the level of disability. For example, white coding for those who are self-accredited or self-attested as PwD. While this accreditation would not provide any government benefits, it would help the private sector, manufacturers of disability aids, and industry to know the size of the market for disability-related products. A wheelchair manufacturer, for instance, doesn’t care if you have government proof of disability but would love to know the potential market size in each state. It would help the government with policy planning, budget allocation, and infrastructure development by focusing on the disabilities in the region.
Similarly, yellow-coded cards could identify PwDs who need ‘reasonable accommodations’ at schools, communities, and in society at large. A card that is too difficult to obtain could make it tougher for families to send children with disabilities to school. Therefore, we propose that the yellow cards should be given by certified, credible organisations such as NGOs and reputed private hospitals. If the government finds a particular NGO or private hospital misusing this facility, they can be punished appropriately. Such a card would open doors to low-stakes ‘reasonable accommodations’, such as a scribe in class 5 examinations.
The blue card would be given after the strongest of certifications or attestations, perhaps from “medical authorities” as mentioned in the draft rules. It would make one eligible for disability quotas in education, employment, pensions, tax breaks, and other government benefits.
Also read: PwDs to now pay for Puja Khedkar’s actions. New rules have complicated certification process
Burdening the system
Disability certification guidelines cannot be rushed to prevent misuse. There is a need to ensure disability advocates, medical professionals, NGOs, and technological evangelists are involved in making a holistic policy.
While it is important to close loopholes to prevent misuse of disability quotas in premier educational institutions and government jobs, we cannot afford to burden the government medical systems. Proving disability should not become a burden in itself.
Creating a trusted ecosystem of attestation providers will reduce the stress on the government of being the only “certifying authority”. It will also reduce opportunities for corruption in the system. All the attestations can go to the government-approved digital wallet DigiLocker and remain with the user. Mechanisms can be developed where public scrutiny can play the role of maintaining trust.
The UDID card must not just be a tool for welfare distribution. If we fall into that trap, we reinforce the charity model of disability, where it is recognised only for welfare schemes. Quotas are important to ensure PwDs are on an equal footing with others, and pensions are essential, considering the added costs associated with disability.
It is important to remember that in a world where the WHO estimates 15 per cent of the population to be disabled, the last Indian census reports just 2.21 per cent. Many people do not declare disabilities because of social stigma. Families often face the burden of spending an entire day and losing daily wages to visit a certifying authority to get their child a disability certificate, knowing that the child may not contribute economically in the future.
We must not leave behind any loopholes for a Puja Khedkar to misuse the disability quota. However, is making the certification process so difficult that a disabled child can’t attend school and get reasonable accommodations the right solution? Twenty-two years after Article 21 A of the Constitution mandated the right to education for all, it would be a shame if this is the direction policymakers choose.
Nipun Malhotra is a Disability Rights Activist and the founder of Nipman Foundation. He can be followed on X at @nipunmalhotra. Shanti Raghavan is the founder of EnAble India and a Schwab Social Innovator. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)