The central government has now made it mandatory to issue disability certificates through online mode only using UDID portal with effect from June 1.

The department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (DEPwD), under the ministry of social justice and empowerment, has issued a gazette notification for this. 

The central government notified the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017 under RPwD Act, 2016. It mandates the central government to fix a date making it mandatory for the state/UT authorities to issue certificate of disability through online mode.

The sector had been demanding such a move, especially during the coronavirus crisis where people with disabilities were unable to get their certificates due to the prevalent restrictions.

Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards

• According to the 2011 Census, there are 2.68 crore persons with disabilities (PwDs) in India (2.21 per cent of the total population).

• The UDID card is the single document of identification, verification of the disabled for availing various benefits.

• The project initiated by the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (DEPwD) in 2016 aims at building a holistic end-to-end integrated system for issuance of universal ID and disability certificates for persons with disabilities with their identification and disability details. This card will be valid pan-India.

• It is being implemented with a view of creating a national database for PwDs.

• PwDs will not need to make multiple copies of documents, maintain and carry multiple documents as the card will capture all the necessary details which can be decoded with the help of a reader.

• The project will not only encourage transparency, efficiency and ease of delivering the government benefits to the person with disabilities, but also ensure uniformity.

• The project will also help in streamlining the tracking of physical and financial progress of beneficiaries at all levels of hierarchy of implementation — from village, block, district, state and national level.

Other features include:

• Online filing and submission of registration application form for disability certificate/universal ID card.

• Quick assessment process for calculating the percentage of disability by the hospitals/medical board.

• Non-duplication of PwDs data.

• Online renewal and update of information by Person with Disabilities/on their behalf.

• Management Information Systems (MIS) reporting framework

• Effective management including interoperability of the benefits/schemes launched by the government for PwD.

• To take care of additional disabilities in future. 

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