Disability groups flag Census 2027 gaps, say form misses several recognised disabilities

New Delhi A coalition of disability rights groups and activists have raised concern over the manner of proposed enumeration of persons with disabilities in Census 2027, saying the nine categories in the form do not cover all 21 disabilities recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.

A statement, issued by the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled and endorsed by 405 signatories, said the classification could result in several groups being left out of official statistics.

As per the statement, the Census framework has nine categories - seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disability, mental illness, acid attack, chronic neurological disease and blood disorder. The groups said disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disabilities, dwarfism, leprosy-cured persons and multiple disabilities, including deafblindness, have not been distinctly provided for in the proposed categories.