Draft Amendments to the RPwD Rules, 2017

In 2023, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) released draft amendments to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Rules, 2017. The proposals focused on strengthening the framework for the Unique Disability ID (UDID) card, with provisions for online applications, colour-coded categories, and revised certification timelines. These changes aimed to streamline processes, improve transparency, and make government support more accessible to persons with disabilities.

To ensure that reforms were informed by lived experiences, MoSJE collaborated with Civis and the Politics and Disability Forum to conduct a national-level consultation. The exercise used a multi-channel approach: hosting the draft on the Civis platform, enabling interactive submissions through a WhatsApp chatbot, and organising focus group discussions with over 60 participants including activists, medical professionals, and community leaders. In total, more than 100 individuals contributed, making the process both inclusive and representative.

The following recommendations were analysed from citizen inputs:

• Provide both online and offline/assisted application routes to bridge the digital divide.
• Shorten certification timelines from three months to one month.
• Reconsider the proposed colour-coding system to avoid stigma.
• Recognise invisible and progressive disabilities within the UDID framework.
• Train medical authorities for consistency and introduce accountability measures such as penalty clauses for delays.
• Enable home delivery and DigiLocker integration for UDID cards.