Page 81 - CURAJ Information Handbook for SC ST Cell

opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in
different areas or engaged in different vocations.

1.3 Further, section 31(I) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD) states
that "Notwithstanding anything contained in the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2009, every child with benchmark disability between the age of six to eighteen
years shall have the right to free education in a neighbourhood school, or in a special school, of
his choice.

1.4 · Further, Section 32 (2) of the RPwD Act states that the appropriate Government and local
authorities shall ensure that every child with benchmark disability has access to free education
in an appropriate environment till he attains the age of eighteen years.

1.5 To fulfill these mandates, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities,
Government of India started the following six scholarship schemes for students with
disabilities between 1.4.2012 and 1.4.2017: l. Pre-matric, 2. Post-matric, 3. Top Class
Education, 4. National Overseas Scholarship, 5. National Fellowship for PwDs and 6. Free
Coaching for SwDs. It has now been decided to bring these stand-alone schemes into an

umbrella scheme called "Scholarships for Students with Disabilities" for operational efficiency
and optimal fund utilization.

1.6 The students with the specified disabilities defined in Schedule of the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities Act, 2016 will be eligible for scholarships of the DEPwD. In the 2016 Act, the
specified disabilities have increased from 7 to 21. The list of specified disabilities as included in
this Act is given below:

Disabilities in PwD Act, 1995 Disabilities in RPwD Act, 2016
Blindness Blindness
Low-vision Low-vision
Leprosy-cured Leprosy-cured person
Hearing Impairment Hearing Impairment (deaf and hard of hearing)
Locomotor Disability Locomotor Disability
Mental Retardation Intellectual Disability
Mental Illness Mental Illness
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Cerebral Palsy
Muscular Dystrophy
Chronic Neurological conditions
Specific Learning Disabilities
Multiple Sclerosis
Speech and Language Disability
Thalassemia
Hemophilia
Sickle Cell Disease
Multiple Disabilities including deaf blindness
Acid Attack Victim
Parkinson's Disease
Dwarfism

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