Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, enacted in 2016, aims to uphold the dignity of people with disabilities and prevent discrimination, replacing the 1995 Persons with Disabilities Act.
The Act fulfills India’s obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory.

The Act expanded the scope of protection for disabled persons, increasing recognised categories of disability from 7 to 21 and redefining them through social, environmental, and relational lenses rather than solely medical terms.

Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.
All Government institutions of higher education and those getting aid from the Government are required to reserve at least 5% of seats for persons with benchmark disabilities.
4% reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities is to be provided in posts of all Government establishments.
Incentives to employers in the private sector are to be given who provide 5% reservation for persons with benchmark disability.
Special employment exchanges for the PWD are to be set up.

The Act states that no child with disability shall be separated from his or her parents on the grounds of disability except on an order of a competent court, if required, in the best interest of the child.

Central & State Advisory Boards on Disability are to be set up to serve as apex policy making bodies at the Central and State level.
The Office of Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities has been strengthened who will now be assisted by 2 Commissioners and an Advisory Committee comprising not more than 11 members drawn from experts in various disabilities.
The Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and the State Commissioners will act as regulatory bodies and Grievance Redressal agencies and also monitor implementation of the Act.
Special Courts will be designated in each district to handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs.

Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) was launched in 2015 by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment as a nation-wide Campaign for achieving universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

The aim of the Campaign is to create a barrier free environment and provide disabled-friendly access in public facilities and places.
The Accessible India Campaign comprises of the following three components:
- Built Environment Accessibility: To provide an accessible physical environment for everyone. Measures should be undertaken to eliminate obstacles and barriers to indoor and outdoor facilities including schools, medical facilities, and workplaces. 
- Transportation System Accessibility: Focuses on providing PwDs an equal right to travel and use public and private transportation infrastructure with dignity and independence.
- Information and Communication Eco-System Accessibility: Access to information refers to all information. This can range from actions such as being able to read price tags, to physically enter a hall, to participate in an event, to read a pamphlet with healthcare information, to understand a train timetable, or to view webpages. 
To provide full legislative cover to the Campaign and Right to accessibility, the Government enacted the Rights for Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.

The Supreme Court has included persons who were forcibly administered acid within the definition of ‘acid attack victims’ under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
- The 2016 law recognised only victims of acid-throwing, and not forcible acid ingestion.
The deemed recognition would aid victims of forcible acid ingestion to claim disability benefits due under the 2016 Act.

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