New Delhi: People with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and learning disabilities have been included in a list of those eligible for government jobs under a new scheme floated by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on January 4. This is the first time since 1977 when reservations in government jobs for people with disabilities were introduced that such positions have opened up for people with learning disabilities and autism.
More than 3000 positions have been opened for people with benchmark disabilities. The recent notification made by the ministry includes people with physical, mental, and intellectual disabilities of all kinds. Moreover, the individual departments, ministries, or government organizations can add to the list of eligibility as per the applications received.
The previous list of posts that could be occupied by persons with disabilities released in 2013 had a total of 2973 positions. The new list has 593 additional posts. Of these, 1046 are in group A, 515 in group B, 1724 in group C, and 281 in group D.
An expert committee was formed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) to review which new posts could be opened up for people with Disabilities. Their report which was submitted in November 2019 advocated the inclusion of several new categories of disability including acid attack survivors, those with mental illnesses, and Down’s Syndrome.
