Despite law, strength of disabled Union govt. staff not rising: data, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• Representation of persons with disabilities in Union government jobs has remained below 1.1% since the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act came into effect in 2016.
• The Supreme Court has raised concerns about candidates qualifying on merit being appointed to reserved posts, potentially disadvantaging lower-scoring candidates.
• Data from the Department of Personnel and Training indicates that the number of employees with disabilities has fluctuated between 13,000 and 22,000 since 2011.
• As of January 2022, 21,874 individuals with disabilities were employed in Union Ministries, constituting 1.15% of the workforce.

Detailed Insights:

• The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016 increased reservation for persons with disabilities from 3% to 4%, yet representation has not significantly improved.
• The Supreme Court is seeking clarification on whether candidates qualifying on merit are being moved to unreserved posts to accommodate candidates requiring reservation.
• Representation varies across job categories, with Group C (Safai Karmachari) posts having the highest representation at 1.93%, while Group A posts have only 1%.
• Data collection has been incomplete since 2018, affecting the accuracy of total employee strength figures reported by the Department of Personnel and Training.
• Before 2016, a 3% reservation was in place for individuals with benchmark disabilities, which was increased to 4% by the 2016 Act, with a specific quota for certain disabilities.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016: Indian legislation protecting and promoting the rights and entitlements of persons with disabilities.
• Reservation: A policy providing a certain percentage of seats or positions in government jobs, educational institutions, etc., for specific categories.
• Merit: Demonstrated ability or achievement, often based on performance in examinations or other selection processes.