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issue 4 may-june 2005
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The Disability Act and employment

Chapter VI of the Disability Act, 1995, lays down rules regarding reservation of posts for people with disabilities in India.

Section 32 mandates that appropriate governments shall:

(a) Identify posts, in the establishments, which can be reserved for the persons with disability;
(b) At periodical intervals not exceeding three years, review the list of posts identified and update the list taking into consideration the developments in technology.

According to Section 33:

Every appropriate Government shall appoint in every establishment such percentage of vacancies not less than three per cent for persons or class of persons with disability of which one per cent each shall be reserved for persons suffering from:

(i) Blindness or low vision;
(ii) Bearing impairment;
(iii) Locomotor disability or cerebral palsy, in the posts identified for each disability:

Finally, Section 41 directs that:

Tthe appropriate Governments and the local authorities shall, within the limits of their economic capacity and development, provide incentives to employers both in public and private sectors to ensure that at least five per cent of their work force is composed of persons with disabilities.

Related stories:
Job reservations for the blind
The carrot and the stick
Does the policy of reservation promote mediocrity?