DAW 9th December 2025, Mains Answer Writting 2026

DAW 9th December 2025, Mains Answer Writting 2026

Question

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 remains only a legal document without intense sensitisation of government functionaries and citizens regarding disability. Comment.  (150 Words, 10 Marks). 

Model Answer

Approach: 

Introduction:  

  • Begin by linking the RPwD Act, 2016 to India’s UNCRPD commitments, highlighting its shift from a charity-based to a rights-based framework. Note that despite covering 2.21% of the population, the Act remains poorly implemented due to inadequate sensitisation and persistent societal attitudes. 

Body: 

  • Briefly outline the key provisions: expanded disability definition, reservations, rights-based guarantees, accessibility norms, and grievance redressal mechanisms. 

  • Analyse why implementation lags: low bureaucratic sensitisation, social stigma, inaccessible infrastructure/digital divide, budgetary gaps, and weak service delivery. 

  • Support with facts and examples: NCPEDP reports, DEF accessibility data, Accessible India audit, recruitment gaps etc,. 

  • Highlight impact: exclusion, discrimination, rights violations, and administrative inefficiencies. 

  • Give balanced suggestions: mandatory sensitisation, stronger audits, inclusive budgeting, universal design, community awareness, judicial guidance, and economic inclusion. 

Conclusion: 

  • Reinforce the need to combine legislation with sensitisation, aligning with constitutional values and SDGs (4, 8, 10, 11). 

  • End by emphasising that transforming the RPwD Act into real change requires attitudinal shift + systemic reform + political will. 

     Introduction: 

  • The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, enacted to align with the UNCRPD, marks a crucial shift from a charity-based to a rights-based approach for empowering Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). However, despite covering over 2.21% of India’s population with disabilities (Census 2011), the Act often remains a legal provision on paper due to inadequate sensitisation, limited administrative awareness, and persistent societal attitudes, undermining its transformative potential. 

 Body: Key Provisions of the RPwD Act, 2016:  

  • Expanded Definition of Disability: recognizes 21 conditions including mental illness, blood disorders, and multiple disabilities.   

  • Reservation in Education and Jobs: provides 4% reservation in government jobs and 5% in higher education.   

  • Rights-Based Approach: ensures equality, non-discrimination, accessibility, and protection from exploitation.   

  • Grievance Redressal and Penalties: It creates central and state-level commissioners to monitor implementation and ensure compliance.   

 Why the RPwD Act Remains Under-Implemented: 

  • Persistent attitudinal barriers 

  • Despite the Act’s mandate for non-discrimination (Section 3), outdated perceptions persist across institutions.  

  • For example, the refusal of basic aids to Prof. G.N. Saibaba or even a sipper cup to Stan Swamy illustrates the deep-rooted paternalism and disregard for dignity.  

  • Prison staff, police, and medical personnel often lack the sensitivity needed to recognise disability-related rights. 

  • Low Sensitisation Among Government Functionaries: 

  • Lack of awareness and training makes bureaucratic implementation weak. 

  • A 2022 NCPEDP report found that over 70% of government officers had never undergone disability sensitisation training. 

  • This results in harassment in issuing disability certificates, arbitrary categorisation, and delays in availing benefits. 

  • Persistent Social Stigma and Public Apathy: 

  • Disability is still viewed through a charity model rather than a rights-based model. 

  • Example: Despite accessible infrastructure, many polling booths in 2024 remained inaccessible due to negligence. 

  • PwDs are often denied wage labour on the false notion that their productivity is low, excluding them from the labour market. 

  • Superstitions in communities lead to harmful “treatments” to “cure” disability, violating dignity. 

  • Non-Accessible Infrastructure and Digital Divide: 

  • Sections 40–46 mandate accessibility—built environment, transport, information and communication. Yet Public infrastructure remains widely non-compliant with accessibility norms. 

  • 2023 Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) report: Only 3% of government websites are fully accessible. 

  • NCPEDP 2023 survey: Only 27% of railway stations and 32% of buses are accessible. 

  • With Digital India driving government services online, inaccessible websites/apps exclude persons with visual and cognitive disabilities from essential services. 

  • Budgetary and Administrative Gaps: 

  • Funds are scattered, underutilised, and poorly monitored. 

  • Accessible India Campaign audit (2022–23): Less than 50% of funds utilised in target cities. 

  • While the Union Budget 2025–26 allocated ₹1,275 crore (a 9.22% rise), it falls short against the needs of 2.68 crore PwDs. 

  • Posts remain vacant due to skill mismatch, weak outreach, and lack of workplace adaptations. 

  • Example: Only 0.5% of government recruits are PwDs despite a mandated 4% reservation. 

  • Impact of Poor Sensitisation: 

  • Social exclusion continues in education, employment, and public spaces. 

  • Service delivery gaps persist due to uninformed frontline staff. 

  • Rights violations are frequent. 

  • Consequences of lack of sensitisation 

  • Human rights violations, as seen in Saibaba and Swamy’s cases. 

  • Denial of education, access to justice, healthcare and mobility despite legal mandates. 

  • Non-utilisation of grievance redressal and advisory mechanisms under the Act. 

  • Persistence of “normalised” discomfort for certain bodies being treated as part of punishment. 

Way Forward: 

  • Mandatory Sensitisation: Integrate disability awareness into induction and in-service training for officials, healthcare workers, and educators. 

  • Stronger Monitoring: Conduct regular accessibility audits, activate district-level oversight committees, and ensure strict compliance through State Commissioners. 

  • Community Awareness: Launch sustained campaigns with NGOs and media to shift attitudes from charity to a rights-based perspective. 

  • Inclusive Infrastructure: Enforce universal design, accessible digital platforms, and expand subtitles/audio descriptions across OTT and public communication. 

  • Inclusive Budgeting: Ring-fence funds for disability schemes and incentivise accessibility in government and private projects. 

  • Respectful Representation: Implement the Supreme Court directive (CJI Chandrachud) ensuring accurate and dignified portrayal of disabilities in visual media. 

  • Economic & Social Inclusion: Recognise the $13 trillion global disability economy and promote active participation of PwDs in governance, workplaces, and entertainment ecosystems. 

 Conclusion: 

  • To truly realise the spirit of the UNCRPD and the constitutional promise of dignity and equality (Article 46), sensitisation must walk alongside legislation. The RPwD Act, 2016 can fulfil its purpose only when bureaucracy and society internalise a rights-based, humane approach. Aligning with SDG-4 (Inclusive Education), SDG-8 (Decent Work), SDG-10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG-11 (Inclusive Cities), sustained awareness, adequate resources, and political will are essential to transform the Act from a legal mandate into a meaningful instrument of social inclusion and full participation for persons with disabilities.