Disability quota in jobs to be raised to five per cent

NEW DELHI: Government has finalized a Bill which proposes reservation of not less than 5 per cent in employment for persons with disabilities.

According to the prevailing Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, they get reservation of 3 per cent but the government is working to increase it to help them realise their full potential and remove the stigma associated with them in society.

Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment P Balram Naik said in Rajya Sabha today that the government has issued instructions that people with disabilities should be provided reservation in all groups of identified posts.

He was replying to questions raised by MP Nhagat Singh Koshyari.

Having blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impairment, loco motor disability, mental retardation and mental illness qualify people to avail reservation under the category, provided they suffer from not less than 40 per cent of any of these disabilities.

Source : The Economic Times, 5 August, 2013