Disabilities Act to Be Amended

The social justice ministry is going to amend the Disabilities Act that lays down the criterion for issuing a disabled disability certificate to enable him to avail of social welfare measure.

The issue dominated the conference of state social justice ministers, in which another plane for simplification of procedure of issuing disability certificate was also discussed at length.

“The states will give their suggestions on amendments to the Disabilities Act by October 15 and the idea is to bring the bill in the next budget session,” Mukul Wasnik, minister for social justice and empowerment, said.

Comprehensive changes to the Act, which make further inclusions in the list of disabilities, are being seen as a major change for improving the scope of the lot of the disabled in obtaining welfare measures.

The discussions followed a lament from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. Speaking at the conference, Singh urged the corporate sector to join efforts to promote employment of persons with disabilities.