BENGALURU: The next nation-wide population census will include a broader definition of disability, Manmeet Nanda, Additional Secretary of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, said on Friday.
“The census will start next year. It should be completed by 2028-29.” Nanda told TNIE at ‘Purple Manthan’ held at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) by the Association of People with Disability (APD) to commemorate a decade of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act. The broader definition proffered by Nanda is one that includes neurodivergence into the scope, not stopping at merely physical.
Nanda said, “We must realise that in a federal structure, many issues get decided at the state level. A policy may be made by the Union government, but it has to be adopted and implemented at the state level. Disability, like health, education, or transportation, is (also) a state subject.”
According to her, the sector working with disabilities, including for-profit, non-profit, and governmental entities, is a fragmented one, “I believe that government schemes really need to shed barriers. We need to make them very uncomplicated because they are very troublesome to apply to,” she said.