Recommendations on the Proposed Disability Rights Legislation

Estimates of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in India vary greatly depending on the source. The 2001 census found 21.91 million disabled persons (2.13 % of the population), but there are serious constraints of methodology, definition, invisibility and social stigma in census estimates. Using more inclusive definitions and methodologies, the World Bank (2007)1 estimates that disabled persons are anywhere between 4 to 8% of India’s population, or about 40-90 million persons. But direct spending by the government on the disability sector has been merely 0.05 to 0.07% of its budget. [NAC]. URL:[http://nac.nic.in/pdf/rpdb_recommendations.pdf].