(a) the details of the categories of disability that come under reservation for the purpose of Government jobs and educational institutes in the country;
(b) whether the Government proposes to grant disability benefits including reservation in Government jobs and educational institutions to acid attack victims; and
(c) if so, the details thereof and the time by which the decision is likely to be taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a): As per Section 2(i) of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PwD Act, 1995), disability means blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental illness. As per Section 2(t) of PwD Act, 1995 person with disability means a person suffering from not less than 40 percent any disability as certified by a medical authority.
While as per Section 33 of PwD Act, 1995 reservation for the purpose of Government jobs is applicable to persons with (i) blindness or low vision; (ii) hearing impairment; (iii) locomotor disability or cerebral palsy and as per Section 39 of this Act, reservation in seats in all Government educational institutions and other educational institutions receiving aid from the Government, is applicable to all categories of persons with disabilities mentioned in the Act.
(b) & (c): As regards grant of reservation benefits to acid attack victims, no decision has been taken by the Government. As such, no timeframe can be given at present in the matter.
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