What are the main features of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

UGC NET Paper 2: Sociology 1 Oct 2022 Shift 2

Number of disabilities increased from 7 to 21
Percentage of reservation increased from 3% to 4%
Special courts, to handle cases related to violation of rights of person with disabilities, set up in each district
All of the above

Answer 1

The correct solution is Option 4

Important Points

The Parliament passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 on December 16, 2016.
This Act replaced the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights, and Full Participation) Act 1995.
The number of disabilities has increased from the existing 7 to 21 and new disabilities like speech and language disabilities, acid attack victims, etc have been added for the very first time.
Reservation in higher education and government jobs has increased from 3 % to 4% for certain persons with benchmark disabilities.
District-level committees are established by state governments to address the concerns of the person with disabilities.
Special courts are also designated to handle cases related to the violation of the rights of persons with disabilities.

Additional Information

It is the responsibility of governments to take appropriate steps to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy their rights equally with others.
Public transport, public places, and public buildings should be made accessible to persons with disabilities and government should take effective steps in this regard.
As disability is an evolving and dynamic concept so the Disabilities Act of 2016 has increased the number of disabilities from 7 to 21 and the Central Government has the right to add more disabilities.