Disability Certificate: All
You Need to Know
Many persons with disability do not
know what is a disability certificate. Here is all the information you need
about the benefits and the process of getting such a certificate. If you are a
disabled person, it is recommended that you get this certificate, if you
already haven’t got it.
A disability certificate (also known as
PwD certificate or PH certificate or handicap certificate) is a document that
certifies the type and extent of holder’s disability. In India, this
certificate is usually issued by medical boards constituted in certain
government hospitals. Disability certificate is an important document for
persons with disabilities because it entitles the holder to get benefits /
facilities and rights of persons with disabilities. Government of India and
state governments provide a host of facilities to disabled people but all these
facilities are available only to those who hold a valid disability certificate.
Contents of the Disability Certificate
A disability typically certificate
mentions and certifies the following:
1.
Type of disability: Recently enacted Rights of Persons
with Disability Act 2016
has increased the number of types of disabilities from 7 to 21. Now persons
affected by any of the following conditions can apply for the disability
certificate:
2. Low-vision
3. Leprosy Cured persons
4. Hearing Impairment (deaf and hard of
hearing)
5. Locomotor Disability
6. Dwarfism
7. Intellectual Disability
8. Mental Illness
9. Autism Spectrum Disorder
10. Cerebral Palsy
11. Muscular Dystrophy
12. Chronic Neurological conditions
13. Specific Learning Disabilities
14. Multiple Sclerosis
15. Speech and Language disability
16. Thalassemia
17. Hemophilia
18. Sickle Cell disease
19. Multiple Disabilities including
deaf-blindness
20. Acid Attack victim
21. Parkinson’s disease
2. Extent of disability: Certificate mentions the
extent of disability usually in percentage. This figure is very important
because various benefits from government are associated with the degree of
disability. People with lesser percentage of disability will get lesser
benefits.
3. Permanence of disability: It is also mentioned if
the disability is permanent or temporary in nature.
4. Validity period: Medical
board mentions the period which the certificate is valid for. If disability is
deemed to be temporary, the person will be examined again after this validity
period and a new disability certificate will be issued, if required. If the
disability is deemed to be permanent, a certificate with life-long validity may
be issued.
Criteria for Getting Disability Certificate
Any person suffering with disabilities
listed above is eligible to apply for a disability certificate. However, when
the medical board does disability evaluation — the certificate is issued
only to those who fulfill any of the following criteria:
- Person must have minimum 35%
mental handicap or disability
- Person must have an orthopedic
disability of minimum 40%
- In case of deaf people the
disability percentage must be between 90 db & 100 db
- Visual impairment has to be
more than 90%
MUST KNOW: Disability
Certificates will soon be replaced by Unique
Disability ID Cards in India.
Benefits of the Disability Certificate
With disability certificate, the
government has attached a number of benefits and facilities. These
benefits vary from state to state and also according to the type and
extent of disability. Following are some of the general facilities that a
disability certificate holder can avail. If you want to get any of these
benefits, we advise you to get more specific information:
- Scholarship schemes for
students with disabilities
- Concession in railway fare
- Rebate in income tax
- Reservation in government jobs
- Free travel in state transport
buses
- Loan for starting own business
- Subsidized prosthetic aids and
assistive devices (like wheelchairs)
- Group insurance for government
employees with disabilities
- Unemployment allowance to
educated disabled persons
- Incentive for eye donors
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