Representation of Persons with Disabilities in Union Government Jobs

14 Sep 2025 GS 2 Governance

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Legal Framework

Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016:
- Raised reservation in government jobs from 3% to 4% for persons with benchmark disabilities (≥40%).
- 1% of quota earmarked for specific categories (e.g., blindness, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, autism, etc.).

Issue: Disabled persons recruited “on merit” often counted against reserved quota posts, instead of being shifted to general merit list.
Consequence: Denies reservation benefits to lower-scoring but eligible disabled candidates.
Court asked Centre to clarify: Are “merit” candidates being “pushed upward” to unreserved posts as mandated?

Overall trend (2011–2022):
- Representation never exceeded 1.1% of total Union govt. staff.
- Absolute numbers fluctuated 13,000–22,000 employees with disabilities.
Recent DATA :
- 21,874 disabled employees (1.15% of workforce).
- Distribution:
  - Group A: 1%
  - Group B: 1.53%
  - Group C (Safai Karmachari): 1.93% (highest)
  - Group C (non-Safai Karmachari): 1.1%
Earlier data:
- 2011: 15,747 (less than 1%).
- 2016: ~20,000 employees (0.67%).
- 2018: Crossed 1% for first time (1.13%).
Incomplete reporting post-2018:
- Employee strength considered fell from 30 lakh (2016) to 20 lakh (2018) due to missing ministry data.

Reservation under-implemented despite legal mandate.
Data gaps post-2018 undermine transparency and accountability.
Concentration in lower posts (Group C Safai Karmachari), very low in Group A/B positions.
Systemic exclusion: barriers in recruitment, workplace accessibility, and awareness of provisions.

Reflects implementation deficit in social justice measures.
Shows gap between law on paper (4% quota) and ground reality (1.15% actual representation).
Raises issues of inclusive governance, equality of opportunity, and judicial monitoring of welfare provisions.