Reservation for PwDs

The purpose of posting this text is to make information available for those who seek it and not to have a viewpoint on the reservation policy for PwDs. Sometimes people have to seek basic information through various means such as RTI which is on the one hand time consuming for seeker and on the other hand taxing for bureaucracy because Govt officers are already overburdened contrary to the popular perception.

Cut to the topic of reservation for PwDs.

Reservation to PwDs is a tool to increase the participation of PwDs in various spheres of life such as work place, educational institutes etc.
Initially, Govt. of India mandated 3% reservation for PwDs in jobs but after coming into force of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 , the quantum of reservation was increased to 4% in jobs and 5% in educational institutions and many other spheres. Let us look at it one by one.

Reservation for PwDs in jobs:

Government establishments:

Sec. 34(1) of the RPwD Act, 2016 mandates that every Government establishment is required to reserve not less than 4% of the total vacancies in the cadre strength for the following categories of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities:
a. Blindness and low vision:%
b. Deaf and hard of hearing:1%
c. Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy:1%
d. Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness:1%
e. Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d) including deaf-blindness. 1%
This policy is well implemented in Govt. establishments vide a circular of DOPT dated 15th January 2018. It is estimated that more than 20,000 PwDs are working in various central ministries/departments including their subordinate/attached offices.

Some of the nuances of this policy need to be understood to have a better grasp :
i. Despite the minimum reservation capping at 4%, there may not be sufficient identified posts category wise bringing down the actual percentage of PwDs being recruited. For example: If a post is not identified for Blindness & Low vision, the benefit of 1% reservation may not be extended.

ii.  A vacancy can be interchanged amongst five groups but subject to various conditions. Let us understand this with the help of an example. A vacancy for deaf and hard of hearing is advertised in the recruitment year 2019-20. No suitable PwD could be found for this and it remains unfilled. In the recruitment year 2020-21, this vacancy shall again be advertised for the same category of PwDs. Let us assume that this year also no suitable PwD could be found for this and it again remains unfilled. It is only in the recruitment year 2021-22 that the vacancy can be interchanged with other categories of disabilities subject to suitability of post for other categories.

iii. The vacancies in government establishments are maintained through 100 point roaster system wherein vacancies at point no. 1, 26,51,82 are earmarked for PwDs. If for some reason vacancy falling at point no. 1 is not identified suitable for PwDs then one vacancy from point no. 2 to 25 shall be treated as reserved for PwDs and similarly for other points.

iv. The reservation for PwDs is horizontal and it cuts into other categories such as SC/ST/OBC etc. If a PwD belongs to SC category , it would be placed under SC quota but once selected it will tick both the categories for establishment i.e PwD & SC. 

v. The exercise of identification of post by different government establishments is a continuous process being undertaken by the Department of Empowerment of PwDs, Govt. of India.

A very good example of implementation of reservation policy can be seen in a vacancy notification of RBI ... link below:


Private establishments:
There is no mandatory reservation for PwDs in private establishments and Government is undertaking other measures such as programmes for skill development for increasing the number of PwDs in their workforce. 
Some of the companies which have hired PwDs in sizable numbers are Lemon Tree Hotels, ITC Hotels, Capgemini, IBM, WIPRO, Accenture India, SAP Labs India, CCD, Jubilant Food works etc. 
Below are few websites which may be useful for someone (PwDs) who is looking for a job:
  1. https://www.ncs.gov.in/
  2. https://sarthakindia.org/job_portal_pwds.php
  3. http://www.jobability.org/
  4. https://enabled.in/wp/category/jobs/
  5. https://www.vividhataa.com/
  6. http://www.ciispecialabilityjobs.in/

In another post, i will publish the compendium of useful websites & resources from viewpoint of jobs for PwDs.

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