National News

Census 2027 Disability Categories

August 23 , 2026 10 hrs 0 min 29 0

Disability rights groups have raised concerns that the Census 2027 questionnaire proposes only 9 broad disability categories, instead of individually recording all 21 disabilities recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.
The proposed categories include seeing, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual disability, mental illness, acid attack, chronic neurological disease and blood disorder.
The 2011 Census recorded 2.68 crore persons with disabilities, accounting for 2.21% of India’s population, based on six disability categories.
The RPwD Act, 2016 expanded recognised disabilities from 7 to 21, including autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disability, dwarfism and multiple disabilities.
The Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI) said the nine categories are broader groups covering specific disabilities and that the questionnaire allows recording up to three disabilities based on severity.